India’s BJP wins Haryana, Kashmir favours Congress alliance: What to know

India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to register a surprise win in the northern state of Haryana, although an opposition alliance was ahead in the first assembly elections in Indian-administered Kashmir in a decade.

Exit polls had projected a win in Haryana for the opposition Congress party, but the BJP managed to come back to power in the state for a third term, months after suffering electoral losses in the parliamentary elections.

In a consolation for the Congress party, its regional ally – the Jammu Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) party – was ahead in the Kashmir assembly elections.

The vote counting is still under way and final results will be announced later on Tuesday. Voting was done by postal ballots and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Haryana went to polls on October 5 while voting was spread across three phases (September 18, 25 and October 1) in Kashmir.

BJP’s surprise victory in Haryana is a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party as they prepare for state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand states due later in the year.

In Haryana’s 90-seat assembly, the majority mark is 46 seats. In Kashmir, 90 seats are elected by voters and five other legislators are nominated by the New Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor (LG). In a house of 95, a government will need 48 seats.

• Haryana: Out of 90 total seats, the BJP won or is leading in 48; Congress in 37; local party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in 2; and independents in 3.
• Indian-administered Kashmir (Officially known as Jammu and Kashmir): Out of 90 total seats, the JKNC won in 42; its alliance partner Congress in 6; the BJP in 29; Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 3; and other parties and independents in 10 seats.

The Congress party was in power in Haryana between 2005 and 2014, during which Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief minister. Hooda was seen as the chief ministerial candidate leading up to the 2024 polls.

The incumbent BJP Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was his party’s face in the current election, and is widely expected to continue at the head of the Haryana government.

In Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister from the JKNC, is expected to head the next government.