Counting Of Haryana, J&K Votes Today, Big Test For BJP, Congress: 10 Points

1. Exit polls have predicted a Congress victory in Haryana and a split verdict in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, with the National Conference and Congress alliance ahead. Exit polls, though, have often got it wrong.

2. Both states have 90 seats each, making 46 the majority mark. But in Jammu and Kashmir, the Lieutenant Governor’s power to nominate five more members to the assembly has raised concern, with the non-BJP parties alleging it is tinkering with the people’s mandate. 

3. The BJP is hoping for a third straight term in power in Haryana amid what is seen as massive anti-incumbency and dissatisfaction of the Jats and the farmer community. 

4. The BJP traditionally had its support base among the non-Jat groups, but this time, their allegiance is said to have shifted. The party, which had earlier maintained an alliance with a local party that has strong support among Jats, contested solo this time, having broken up with Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha election. 

5. The BJP is also hoping to reap the benefits of peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir over the last five years and its promise of restoration of statehood.

6. Election in Jammu and Kashmir took place after a decade, for the most part of which it was under President’s Rule. Its special status granted under the Constitution was scrapped and the state was split into two Union Territories in 2019. 

7. While delimitation levelled the ground to an extent for the BJP, with Jammu region having 43 seats against Kashmir’s 47, parties in the Valley contend that the LG’s power to nominate five MLAs could give the BJP an advantage. 

8. After the Delimitation Commission increased the number of seats in the Union Territory, a fresh rule granted the LG powers to nominate five members – two women, two Kashmiri Pandits and a displaced person from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir – to the Legislative Assembly, increasing the total number of seats to 95. 

9. “Any such move is an assault on democracy, the people’s mandate, and the fundamental principles of the Constitution,” Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee senior vice president and chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma has said. 

10. The National Conference has said it would go to the Supreme Court if such an event takes place. PDP leader Iltija Mufti said giving power to the Lieutenant Governor to nominate five members to the assembly was a “brazen pre-result rigging” of the polls. 

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