Omar accepts peoples mandate, Congratules Er Rashid
Srinagar : In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the National Conference (NC) secured two out of the five seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, winning in Srinagar and Anantnag. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained its dominance in the Jammu region for the third consecutive term, with Jugal Kishore Sharma and Jitendra Singh retaining their seats.
Despite BJP’s continued success in Jammu, they refrained from fielding candidates in Kashmir. The Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference, part of the INDIA bloc, contested three seats in the Valley and triumphed in two.
Constituency Candidate Party Votes
Baramulla Er ABDUL RASHID Independent 472,481
OMAR ABDULLAH JKNC 268,339
SAJAD GANI LONE JKPC 173,239
MIR MOHAMMAD FAYAZ JKPDP 27,488
SURAIYA NISSAR Independent 21,618
FIRDOUS AHMAD BHAT Independent 15,722
SHAFEEQA BEGUM Independent 6,214Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah NC 356,866
Waheedur Rehman PDP 168,450
Ashraf Mir Apni Party 65,954Anantnag Mian Altaf Ahmad NC 521,836
Mehbooba Mufti PDP 240,042
Zaffar Iqbal Apni Party 142,195Udhampur Dr Jitendra Singh BJP 571,076
Ch Lal Singh INC 446,703
GM Saroori DPAP 39,599Jammu Jugal Kishore BJP 687,588
Raman Bhalla INC 552,090Ladakh Haji Haneefa Jan Independent 65,259
Tsering Namgyal Congress 37,397
Tashi Gyalson BJP 31,956
This election was particularly significant as it was the first major electoral exercise following the abrogation of Article 370, which had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The results revealed some unexpected outcomes, notably with the jailed leader Er Rashid defeating high-profile candidates Omar Abdullah of the NC and Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference in Baramulla. Er Rashid, who ran as an independent, secured a margin of over 200,000 votes, largely attributed to the vigorous campaign led by his sons.
In Anantnag-Rajouri, NC’s Mian Altaf Ahmed Larvi defeated former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by a significant margin of 281,794 votes. Similarly, in Srinagar, Aga Syed Ruhulla Mehdi of the NC won by 188,416 votes against his rival from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to the details, Aga Ruhulla secured 356,866 votes, defeating his rival from PDP, who bagged 168,450 votes. Apni Party candidate Muhammad Ashraf Mir, however, secured only 65,954 votes. Meanwhile, NC candidate from Anantnag-Rajouri, Mian Altaf Ahmad Larvi, bagged 521,836 votes, defeating his close rival and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who secured only 240,042 votes, followed by Apni Party’s Zafar Iqbal Khan Manhas with 142,195 votes.
The Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency, where a close contest was expected between Omar Abdullah and Sajad Gani Lone, witnessed a different outcome as the independent candidate and jailed leader Er Rashid emerged victorious.
Er Rashid, a former two-time MLA from Langate in North Kashmir, has been in Tihar Jail for five years facing terror funding charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He leads the Awami Ittehad Party but chose to contest as an independent candidate. He bagged 472,481 votes, defeating Omar Abdullah by a margin of 204,142 votes.
Sajad Lone got only 173,239 votes. The credit for Er Rashid’s victory is attributed to the “vigorous and emotional election campaign” run by his sons Abrar Rasheed and Asrar Rasheed, who attracted a large number of youth to their rallies.
Meanwhile after conceding defeat, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) vice-president and Baramulla Lok Sabha candidate Omar Abdullah said that he accepted the mandate of the people.
“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,” Omar told reporters. Omar said , “We are very happy to see the Lok Sabha results,” adding that, “Exit poll predictions have been proved wrong.”
“The way Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu, Sharad Pawar & Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (Didi) in West Bengal, and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge saheb performed so well… No one had thought of this,” he said.
“For the National Democratic Alliance, running a coalition government will be a new thing now. In the coming days, we will see how they will adjust their style to run a coalition government,” Omar added.
Earlier in the day, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said in a post on X, “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 Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone on Tuesday conceded defeat and congratulated Er Rashid for his victory in Baramulla Parliamentary constituency.
In a Post on X, Sajad lone wrote, “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 mandate with all humility”, he said.
Jammu voters continued to show strong support for the BJP, re-electing Jugal Kishore Sharma in Jammu and Dr. Jitendra Singh in Udhampur. Sharma won by 135,498 votes over Congress’s Raman Bhalla, while Singh defeated Congress’s Choudhary Lal Singh by 124,373 votes. Both Dr. Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma have made a hat-trick of victories, contributing two important seats to BJP for forming the government at the center.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youth leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Para on Tuesday lauded the active participation of Kashmiris in the electoral process, marking a pivotal moment after years of political silence in the region.
He congratulated winning Lok Sabha candidates from Kashmir valley.Para specifically congratulated Ruhullah Mehdi, Engineer Rashid, and Mian Altaf on their electoral victories. He also expressed gratitude towards PDP President Mehbooba Mufti and the party’s supporters for their unwavering support throughout the election campaign.
In a post on X, Parra said, “Kashmiris, after years of silence, have boldly spoken out through their votes for the first time – to break the cycle of silence and to reclaim voice. Congratulations to @RuhullahMehdi sb, Er Rashid sb & Mia Altaf sb on their victory. Thanking @MehboobaMufti Ji and @jkpdp supporters for all the help.”
Post abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, this was the first general election held in J&K, and Jammu seems satisfied with BJP’s performance. The BJP’s victory in both seats of the Jammu region is expected to boost the party’s confidence as the Election Commission of India is anticipated to hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir soon. Jammu and Kashmir recorded its highest poll participation in the last 35 years, with a combined voter turnout of 58.46 percent.
Meanwhile, in the Ladakh Parliamentary constituency, Independent candidate Haji Haneefa Jan secured 65,259 votes, while Congress party’s Tsering Namgyal bagged 37,397 votes, and BJP’s Tashi Gyalson got 31,956 votes. Official figures suggested that Haji won with a margin of 27,862 votes.
