2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election

2014 Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections

25 November to 20 December 2014
All 87 seats in Legislative Assembly 44 seats needed for a majority
Registered	7,316,946
Turnout	65.91% (4.75%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Nirmal Kumar Singh Omar Abdullah Party JKPDP BJP Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Leader's seat Anantnag Billawar Beerwah, Sonawar(lost) Last election 21 11 28 Seats won 28 25 15 Seat change 7 14 13 Percentage 22.7% 23.0% 20.8% Swing 7.31% 10.55% 2.27%   Fourth party   Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Party INC Last election 17 Seats won 12 Seat change 5 Percentage 18.0% Swing 0.29%
Chief Minister before election Omar Abdullah JKCN (in coalition with the INC) Elected Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed PDP (in coalition with the BJP)

Seat wise party share:

  People's Democratic Party (PDP): 28 seats

  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 25 seats

  National Conference (NC): 15 seats

  Indian National Congress (INC): 12 seats

Other parties: 7 seats

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 2014 was held in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in five phases from 25 November – 20 December 2014. Voters elected 87 members to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, which ends its six-year term on 19 January 2015. The results were declared on 23 December 2014. Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) along with EVMs were used in 3 assembly seats out of 87 in Jammu Kashmir elections.

Background and campaign

Before the election, Indian National Congress broke its alliance with Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and contested on all seats in the assembly.

Campaigning before the elections were aggressive and robust. Following the huge victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the Indian parliamentary election, the BJP turned its attention towards J&K and campaigned on the promise of 'development'. This included a visit from the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in support of the local BJP campaign.

Boycott Calls

• Hardline separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had appealed to people of Kashmir to boycott the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections completely, arguing that "India has been holding elections in the Valley using the power of the gun and so such an exercise is not legitimate." He added, "My appeal to the youth, in particular, is that the sacrifices rendered by the people must be safeguarded and, hence, in no way should vote during elections."
• Separatists were propagating the poll boycott campaign through video clips on social networking sites and applications, including Facebook and WhatsApp.
• A four-minute video clip has gone viral on social sites with messages of chairmen of both hardline and moderate factions of Hurriyat Conference and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi. The video message sent through WhatsApp and shared on Facebook and Twitter asked the people to boycott the coming polls.
• Video also showed Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani addressing a gathering via phone urging youth not to undermine the mission of 'martyrs'. Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is seen posing for the camera with the appeal that polls must be boycotted 'en masse'.

Despite these calls, voter turnout in the 2014 elections instead increased by 4%, from roughly 61% in the previous election to 65%.

Voting

The polls were carried out in five phases. Despite several boycott calls by hurriyat leaders, elections recorded highest voters turnout in last 25 years. Voters turnout was more than 65% which is higher than usual voting percentage in other states of India.

Voting stages

	Date	Seats	Turnout
	Tuesday 25 November	15	71.28%
	Tuesday 2 December	18	71%
	Tuesday 9 December	16	58.89%
	Sunday 14 December	18	49%
	Saturday 20 December	20	76%
	Total	87	65.23%
Source:

The European Parliament, on the behalf of European Union, welcomed the smooth conduct of the State Legislative Elections in the Jammu and Kashmir. The EU in its message said that, "The high voter turnout figure proves that democracy is firmly rooted in India. The EU would like to congratulate India and its democratic system for conduct of fair elections, unmarred by violence, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir". The European Parliament also takes cognizance of the fact that a large number of Kashmiri voters turned out despite calls for the boycott of elections by certain separatist forces. However, elected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed said, "If God forbid the Hurriyat and the militants tried to disrupt the elections there would not have been as participative as they had been. They (Pakistan) also allowed these elections to take place." Ruling Party president Mehbooba Mufti also defended Mufti's remarks. While taking a dig at Mufti's statement former Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said that, "In fact, Pakistan and militant groups tried their best to destabilize the democratic process in the state."

Results

Party	Seats	Previously	+/–	Vote %	Vote Share
People's Democratic Party	28	21	+7	22.7%	10,92,203
Bharatiya Janata Party	25	11	+14	23.0%	11,07,194
National Conference	15	28	-13	20.8%	10,00,693
Indian National Congress	12	17	-5	18.0%	8,67,883
Jammu & Kashmir People's Conference	2	0	+2	1.9%
Communist Party of India (Marxist)	1	1	0	0.5%
Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Front	0	0	0
Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party	0	3	-3
People's Democratic Front	1	1	0	-	-
Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist	0	1	-1	%
Independents	3	4	-1	%
Total (turnout 65.23%)	87	87		-	-
Valid votes		48,17,981	99.90
Invalid votes		4,795	0.10
Votes cast / turnout		48,22,776	65.91
Abstentions		24,94,170	34.09
Registered voters		73,16,946
Source:Election Commission of India

PDP became the single largest party with 28 seats. BJP became the second largest party with 25 seats.

Omar Abdullah resigned as a chief minister on 24 December 2014.

Elected Members

Constituency	Reserved for (SC/None)	Member	Party		Region
Karnah	None	Raja Manzoor Ahmad		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party	Kashmir Division
Kupwara	None	Bashir Ahmad Dar		Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference
Lolab	None	Abdul Haq Khan		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Handwara	None	Sajad Gani Lone		Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference
Langate	None	Abdul Rashid Sheikh		Independent
Uri	None	Mohammad Shafi		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Rafiabad	None	Yawar Ahmad Mir		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Sopore	None	Abdul Rashid Dar		Indian National Congress
Gurez	None	Nazir Ahmad Khan		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Bandipora	None	Usman Abdul Majid		Indian National Congress
Sonawari	None	Mohammad Akbar Lone		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Sangrama	None	Syed Basharat Ahmed Bukhari		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Baramulla	None	Javid Hassan Baig		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Gulmarg	None	Mohd. Abass Wani		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Pattan	None	Imran Raza Ansari		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Kangan	None	Altaf Ahmad		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Ganderbal	None	Ishfaq Ahmad Sheikh		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Hazratbal	None	Asiea		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Zadibal	None	Abid Hussain Ansari		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Eidgah	None	Mubarik Ahmad Gul		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Khanyar	None	Ali Mohd Sagar		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Habba Kadal	None	Shamim Firdous		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Amira Kadal	None	Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Sonawar	None	Mohammad Ashraf Mir		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Batmaloo	None	Noor Mohd Sheikh		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Chadoora	None	Javaid Mustafa Mir		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Budgam	None	Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Beerwah	None	Omar Abdullah		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Khan Sahib	None	Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen Shah		Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Front
Chrar-i-sharief	None	Ghulam Nabi Lone		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Tral	None	Mushtaq Ahmad Shah		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Pampore	None	Zahoor Ahmad Mir		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Pulwama	None	Mohd. Khalil Band		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Rajpora	None	Haseeb A Drabu		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Wachi	None	Aijaz Ahmad Mir		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Shopian	None	Mohd Yousuf Bhat		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Noorabad	None	Abdul Majid Padder		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Kulgam	None	Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami		Communist Party of India
Hom Shali Bugh	None	Ab. Majeed		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Anantnag	None	Mufti Mohd Sayeed		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Devsar	None	Mohammad Amin Bhat		Indian National Congress
Dooru	None	Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabi		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Kokernag	None	Abdul Rahim Rather		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Shangus	None	Gulzar Ahmad Wani		Indian National Congress
Bijbehara	None	Abdul Rehman Bhat		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Pahalgam	None	Altaf Ahmad Wani		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Nubra	None	Deldan Namgail		Indian National Congress	Ladakh
Leh	None	Nawang Rigzin		Indian National Congress
Kargil	None	Asgar Ali Karbalaie		Indian National Congress
Zanskar	None	Syed Mohammad Baqir Rizvi		Independent
Kishtwar	None	Sunil Kumar Sharma		Bharatiya Janata Party	Jammu Division
Inderwal	None	Ghulam Mohd Saroori		Indian National Congress
Doda	None	Shakti Raj		Bharatiya Janata Party
Bhaderwah	None	Daleep Singh		Bharatiya Janata Party
Ramban	SC	Neelam Kumar Langeh		Bharatiya Janata Party
Banihal	None	Vikar Rasool Wani		Indian National Congress
Gulab Garh	None	Mumtaz Ahmed		Indian National Congress
Reasi	None	Ajay Nanda		Bharatiya Janata Party
Gool Arnas	None	Ajaz Ahmed Khan		Indian National Congress
Udhampur	None	Pawan Kumar Gupta		Independent
Chenani	SC	Dina Nath		Bharatiya Janata Party
Ram Nagar	None	Ranbir Singh Pathania		Bharatiya Janata Party
Bani	None	Jewan Lal		Bharatiya Janata Party
Basohli	None	Lal Singh		Bharatiya Janata Party
Kathua	None	Rajiv Jasrotia		Bharatiya Janata Party
Billawar	None	Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh		Bharatiya Janata Party
Hira Nagar	SC	Kuldeep Raj		Bharatiya Janata Party
Samba	SC	Devinder Kumar Manyal		Bharatiya Janata Party
Vijay Pur	None	Chander Parkash		Bharatiya Janata Party
Nagrota	None	Devender Singh Rana		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Gandhi Nagar	None	Kavinder Gupta		Bharatiya Janata Party
Jammu East	None	Rajesh Gupta		Bharatiya Janata Party
Jammu West	None	Sat Paul Sharma		Bharatiya Janata Party
Bishnah	None	Kamal Verma		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Ranbir Singh Pura	SC	Dr. Gagan Bhagat		Bharatiya Janata Party
Suchet Garh	None	Sham Lal Choudhary		Bharatiya Janata Party
Marh	None	Sukhnandan Kumar		Bharatiya Janata Party
Raipur Domana	SC	Bali Bhagat		Bharatiya Janata Party
Akhnoor	None	Rajeev Sharma		Bharatiya Janata Party
Chhamb	SC	Dr. Kirshan Lal		Bharatiya Janata Party
Nowshera	None	Ravinder Raina		Bharatiya Janata Party
Darhal	None	Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Rajouri	None	Qamar Hussain		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Kala Kote	None	Abdul Ghani Kohli		Bharatiya Janata Party
Surankote	None	Ch Mohd Akram		Indian National Congress
Mendhar	None	Javed Ahmed Rana		Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Poonch Haveli	None	Shah Mohd Tantray		Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party

Government formation

Three days after the results, the JKNC approached the BJP for a meeting to try and form a government. As part of the deal, Nirmal Kumar Singh was to be the chief minister and JKNC's MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar was to be his deputy. The deal fell through after a revolt in the JKNC. The BJP also rejected this deal, citing morality issues.

In the following days, the JKNC also announced its intention to support the PDP from outside by submitting a letter to the governor Narinder Nath Vohra after the dialogue with the BJP fell through. The PDP refused.

A week after the results, the PDP and the BJP officially started talks. Both parties had a two-member team to form a Common Minimum Programme (CMP). The PDP was represented by Naeem Akhtar and Haseeb Drabu, while Ram Madhav and Nirmal Kumar Singh represented the BJP. Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, supervised the dialogue.

Omar Abdullah resigned as chief minister on 24 December. The Governor accepted his resignation but asked him to continue in an interim capacity until the formation of a new government. President's rule was imposed on 1 January 2015.

After dealing with issues, both parties turned their attention to the composition of the cabinet. The PDP was initially reluctant for a three-year rotation of the chief minister's post but later agreed. There were also issues related to the joining of the government by separatist-turned-politician Sajjad Lone. In the run-up to the election, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and praised him by calling him "big brother." The BJP reciprocated by not running a candidate against Lone for the Handwara seat, from where he won, and got elected to the assembly for the first time.

Both parties announced on 25 February that the CMP was almost ready, in a joint press conference called by BJP national President Amit Shah and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti. They also stated that the ideological differences had been "ironed out" and both parties were now working on the formation of a cabinet. The dialogue between both parties ended successfully on 18 February - two months and 5 days after the beginning of talks.

The new PDP-BJP government took the oath of office on 1 March in the Zorawar Singh Stadium of Jammu, with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chief minister for the full term of six years and Nirmal Kumar Singh as his deputy. Modi was also present for the occasion. Twelve cabinet ministers from each party were also sworn-in. This was the first time that the BJP was a coalition partner in the Jammu and Kashmir government. Lone and independent MLA for Udhampur, Pawan Kumar Gupta, were also sworn-in as cabinet ministers from the BJP's quota.

The CMP was then released in a press conference. The CMP gave a vision of the "all-around development of Jammu and Kashmir" and "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" (with everyone, everyone's development). Contentious issues like Article 370 and AFSPA would be referred to a high-power committee, with representation from both parties and civil society. The PDP also agreed to join the NDA's central, with Mehbooba Mufti's induction into the union cabinet, at a later date, and also support the Modi government in both houses of parliament.

See also

• Elections in Jammu and Kashmir
• Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
• Indian Armed Forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Floods, 2014
• 2014 Kashmir Valley attacks
• 2014 elections in India
• 2021 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election

External links

• Website of the Election Commission of India