Polls result in Kashmir coalition government

No single party in Indian-administered Kashmir has managed to secure the 44-seat majority needed to form a government in the 87-member state assembly, raising the prospect of a coalition government in the disputed Himalayan region, Press TV reports.

Over one million people were reportedly eligible to vote in the five-phase local legislative polls in Kashmir, where a dozen militant groups have been resisting Indian rule since 1989.

The voter turnout in the election, which began on November 25 and ended on December 20, stood at around 65 percent.

“We took part in large numbers to choose a right candidate. By boycotting elections, we would have given the chance to corrupt people to come to power. We want an end to corruption. We want change,” a young Kashmiri man, who declined to be named, told Press TV on Tuesday.

The main contenders in the polls were the state’s ruling Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKN) led by Farooq Abdullah, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress political party.

The PDP has won 28 seats to claim the largest number of seats in Indian-administered Kashmir, while the BJP attained 25 seats.

The JKN was close behind with 15 seats, while the Congress party won 11 seats. The rest of the seats were shared by regional parties as well as independents.

The results have raised question about the political landscape of the coalition government led by the PDP. The BJP is accused of stirring anti-Muslim sentiments in Kashmir, and the state’s ruling JKN party hasn’t got much public support over handling of devastating September floods that killed more than 200 people.

“Jammu & Kashmir is a very complex, a very sensitive state. We cannot take a decision in a half. We have to see pros and cons of all possibilities, and then go ahead,” Nayeem Akhter, a member of the regional People’s Democratic Party, said.