Jammu & Kashmir Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 Highlights: In J&K, former CMs Omar and Mehbooba concede defeat

Former chief National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday conceded defeat from his Baraulla Lok Sabha constituency after trailing his nearest rival and independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid. Earlier, Omar had expressed optimism about securing victory, despite trailing behind Rashid by 93,998 votes in preliminary trends.

Abdul Rashid Sheikh, an independent candidate, has won in the Baramullah constituency of Jammu & Kashmir defeating Omar Abdullah of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference with a margin of 204142 votes.

Bhartiya Janta Party candidate Dr. Jitendra Singh wins with a margin of 124373 votes defeating Ch Lal Singh of Indian National Congress.

Jitendra Singh of Bhartiya Janta Party is leading in Udhampur constituency of Jammu & Kashmir with a margin of 571076 votes leaving behind Ch Lal Singh of Indian National Congress.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah has won from Srinagar constituency defeating Waheed Ur Rehman Para of Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party with a margin of 188416 votes.

Bhartiya Janta Party Candidate Jugal Kishore is currently leading with a margin of 131540 votes leaving behind Indian National Congress Raman Bhallah.

Sajad Lone conceded defeat from Baramulla and congratulated Rashid "With all humility at my command I accept defeat. And it is time to congratulate Engineer Rashid. I wanted to make a difference. I thought we should be empowered economically, socially and politically to be able to make a difference and be counted. We had suffered a lot in the past 30 yrs and been robbed of all our dignity. The people's mandate is supreme. I accept the people's mandate with all humility," Lone posted on 'X'.

Abdul Rashid former MLA from the Langate assembly segment in Kupwara district, was arrested in 2019 and charged by the NIA under UAPA. He was the first mainstream politician to be booked under the anti-terror law. His campaign was run by his son Abrar, who thanked people for their "love and support".
"I am thankful to people who not only supported our campaign but showered their love and converted it into votes as well. Winning or losing doesn't matter much to us. What matters to me is the love we got from the people," Abrar told reporters after his father took a substantial lead.

The Lok Sabha election results in Kashmir have sprung a few surprises as former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were defeated by lesser-known candidates. Mufti lost to Gujjar leader and National Conference candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad by a huge margin in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, while Abdullah was defeated by former MLA and terror financing accused Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid in Baramulla. People's Conference president Sajad Gani Lone also lost in the Baramulla seat

JKNC vice-president and Baramulla Lok Sabha candidate Omar Abdullah says, " I knew this contest would be tough. I accept the mandate of the people. The people of Kargil and Leh have defeated the BJP. I congratulate them"
On Lok Sabha election results he said , "We are very happy to see the (Lok Sabha) results. Exit polls have been proved wrong. The way Akhilesh in UP, Stalin in TN, Sharad Pawar & Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Mamata didi in West Bengal and Congress-Rahul- Priyanka and Kharge saheb performed so well..No one had thought of this. For NDA, running a coalition govt will be a new thing now. In the coming days, we will see how they will adjust their style to run a coalition govt."

Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a 57-year-old former MLA from Langate, won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat by a significant margin of over one lakh votes against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. This outcome is remarkable because Rashid was contesting from Tihar Jail, where he has been detained for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His sons, Abrar and Asrar, led his campaign, which began just two weeks before the May 20 polling phase.

Omar Abdullah, the National Conference (NC) vice president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, has conceded defeat to independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency. In a post shared on his X account, Abdullah expressed his acceptance of the outcome, stating "I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters."

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina expressed confidence that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will form the government for the third consecutive term under the leadership of Narendra Modi. According to Raina, the trends show the Congress-led INDIA bloc is 100 seats behind the NDA. He expressed satisfaction over BJP candidates Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma leading in Udhampur and Jammu parliamentary seats, respectively. Raina is hopeful that the NDA will cross the 300-seat mark at the end of the counting.

Jammu Kashmir National Conference workers and supporters have gathered to celebrate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi's win outside SKICC-Centre in J&K's Srinagar.

Amid trailing from Anantnag Rajouri's Lok Sabha seat JKPDP leader Mehbooba Mufti accepted the people's verdict. "Respecting the verdict of the people I thank my PDP workers & leaders for their hard work & support despite all the odds. My deepest gratitude to the people who voted for me. Winning & losing is part of the game & wont deter us from our path. Congratulations to Mian sahab for his victory," Tweeted Mehbooba mufti on X.

Former Jammu and Kashmir and CM JNPDP candidate Mehbooba Mufti is trailing by more than 2 lakh votes from Anantnag Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. Mian Altaf Ahmed, JKNC candidate is leading from the seat.

BJP's Jammu and Kashmir President Ravinder Raina stated that the BJP-led NDA is maintaining a lead in the Lok Sabha elections. He predicted that the NDA will continue to move ahead strongly as the counting progresses, with the lead increasing by 4-5 pm. Additionally, he mentioned that BJP candidates are leading on two seats in Jammu and Kashmir and are expected to win with a significant margin

JKNC leader and candidate Omar Abdullah is defeated from Baramulla Lok Sabha Seat. Abdul Rashid Sheikh. Independent Candidate secured victory from the seat with a vote margin of 128441 votes.

Despite trailing behind independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid by 93,998 votes in preliminary trends, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah expressed optimism about securing victory in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency. Abdullah acknowledged that exit polls have been wrong in the past but also noted that they have been correct sometimes. He expressed hope that the final results will be in the NC's favor, stating that everything will be clear by 1 or 2 pm.

The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) holds a strong majority in the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, having won ten of the last thirteen elections. The Indian National Congress (INC) is the only national party to have ever won the seat, which they did in 1996. In the 2024 elections, the JKNC and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP) have both chosen candidates to run from Srinagar, with Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Waheed Parra representing them, respectively.

BJP is ahead of the INC in the Jammu and Udhampur Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the latest Election Commission trends. In Udhampur, Union Minister Jitendra Singh is leading by a margin of 21,569 votes, while in Jammu, sitting MP Jugal Kishore Sharma is ahead by 57,231 votes.

JKNC vice president and Baramulla Lok Sabha candidate Omar Abdullah, "It's only been two hours since the counting started, so we should wait a bit longer. Exit polls don't significantly influence the final results; we've observed discrepancies between exit polls and actual results. However, we must acknowledge that not all exit polls can be entirely incorrect. It's unreasonable to expect a massive difference in the outcomes compared to the exit polls."

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader and candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi is leading from the Srinagar seat.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate Jugal Kishore has maintained a strong lead, securing 102,682 votes. The Indian National Congress (INC) candidate, Raman Bhalla, is trailing behind with 72,114 votes, a difference of 30,568 votes. However, these figures may continue to fluctuate as the vote counting process progresses.

Union minister and BJP candidate Jitendra Tiwari leads from Udhampur Lok Sabha seat with 7238 votes as per early Lok Sabha trends with Congress candidate Lal Singh trailing.

Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party leader and candidate Mehbooba Mufti is trailing from Anantnag Rajouri seat to JKNC'S Mian Altaf Ahmed

JKNC vice president and candidate from Baramulla Omar Abdullah says "It is the election of the nation. It will decide the course for the next five years. Let's hope for the best"

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC's) Omar Abdullah is trailing in Baramulla, he is contesting against Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party's Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Jammu & Kashmir People Conference's Sajad Gani Lone.

BJP candidates Jugal Kishore and Jitendra Singh are currently leading according to ealry trends in their respective constituencies Jammu and Udhampur.

J&K Apni Party candidate from Anantnag-Rajouri, Zafar Iqbal Manhas says "Counting of votes will begin now...According to me, everything was over on 25th May, when people went to cast their votes. Whatever has to happen will happen today...During elections, I was in stress but now I have left everything on people and I will accept their mandate..."

The counting of votes for the Jammu and Udhampur parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir has commenced, surrounded by a three-tier security cordon and extensive camera surveillance. The counting centers at Polytechnic College, M.A.M. College, and Government Degree College Kathua are equipped with multi-tier security and CCTV surveillance, ensuring a secure and transparent process.

At 8 am, the vote counting for the Jammu Lok Sabha constituency has commenced. Jammu and Kashmir witnessed its highest voter turnout in the last 35 years during the recent General Elections, with a combined voter turnout of 58.46% across the five Lok Sabha seats

Key candidates are set to challenge their electoral fortunes in Jammu and Kashmir, with NC's Omar Abdullah running in Baramulla, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti in Anantnag–Rajouri, Jitendra Singh in Udhampur, and Jugal Kishore Sharma in Jammu.

“Very hopeful of grand victory for all of our candidates. We will be winning all three Anantnag, Baramulla, and Srinagar seats,” says Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JNKC) leader Salman Sagar. Mian Altaf Ahmed Larvi, Omar Abdullah, and Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi are the candidates contesting from these constituencies.

Udhampur lok sabha constituency, situated in Jammu & Kashmir, is a significant electoral battleground. Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency encompasses six districts: Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi, Ramban, Kishtwar, and Doda. The diverse terrain, which includes parts of the Himalayan mountain range, is home to a population of over 2.4 million people, making it a crucial electoral hub in the region.

Jitendra Singh, Union minister and BJP candidate from Udhampur arrived at a counting centre in Jammu. Jitendra Singh who emerged victorious from the same seat in 2014 and 2019 will be looking forward to winning the Udhampur seat for the third consecutive time.

The election for five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir took place across five phases. The constituencies and their respective polling dates were as follows: Udhampur on April 19, Jammu on April 26, Srinagar on May 13, Baramulla on May 20, and Anantnag–Rajouri on May 25, 2024.

Security has been significantly increased at the Kathua counting center. Kathua voting center falls under the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency. With just hours remaining until the vote counting for the Lok Sabha elections begins in the world's largest democracy, security measures have been ramped up at various locations nationwide. Police and paramilitary forces are carrying out extensive patrols.

Srinagar saw a voter turnout of 38.49% as reported by the Election Commission. This marks the highest turnout in the valley since 1996.

In 2014, 2009, 2004, and 1999, Srinagar experienced voter turnouts of 25.86%, 25.55%, 18.57%, and 11.93% respectively. The turnout in 1996 was 40.94%.

Stringent security arrangements have been made for the counting of votes for three Lok Sabha constituencies of Kashmir as additional security personnel have been deployed at key places in the valley, officials said on Monday. A three-tier security blanket has been thrown around the counting centres in Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag to ensure that no unauthorised person enters the premises, they said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh is challenged by Chowdhary Lal Singh of the Congress; Omar Abdullah by Sajad Gani Lone of the People’s Conference (PC) and Engineer Rashid of Awami Ithad Party (AIP), Mehbooba Mufti is challenged by Mian Altaf Ahmad of the National Conference (NC) as the main contestant.

Jitendra Singh is the BJP candidate for the Kathua-Udhampur Lok Sabha seat while Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are fighting elections from the Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri constituencies respectively.

The Election Commission of India announced on Monday that the voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir was the highest in the past 40 years, with an overall participation rate of 58.58 per cent.
During a press conference, Rajiv Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner, stated that the commission had simplified the process for Kashmiri migrants by eliminating the complex Form M and replacing the requirement for gazetted officer attestation with self-attestation.
Kumar also highlighted the unprecedented scale of the electoral exercise, noting that no other election in the world has seen 642 million voters participating. He further emphasized the record-breaking participation of women, with 312 million female voters exercising their right to vote in the general elections.

Election Commission authorities have set up nine centres for the five Lok Sabha constituencies where counting of votes will take place today.

One counting centre has been set up additionally in Delhi for counting votes polled by migrant voters of three Lok Sabha constituencies of Kashmir.

The fate of 100 candidates will be decided on Tuesday in J&K among whom prominent faces are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader and Minister of State (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh, former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.