Exit Poll: Edge To NC-Cong Alliance

BJP Remains Hopeful To Form Govt; Omar Calls It ‘Time Pass’, PDP Says Too Premature To Talk About Govt Formation

Jammu: Most of the exit polls predicted that the Congress-NC alliance has an advantage in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir but the BJP remained hopeful of forming the government in the Union territory.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, however, described the exit polls as “just time pass” even though the results are in favour of his party.
“I’m amazed channels are bothering with exit polls especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I’m ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp etc. because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass,” Abdullah, a former chief minister, wrote on X.
Several exit polls gave an edge to the NC-Congress alliance and predicted that the regional party could emerge as the single-largest party in J&K.
Reacting to the exit poll predictions, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina said his party contested the assembly polls with all its strength.
“We are confident that BJP will emerge as the single largest party when the results are out on October 8,” he said.
Raina said the BJP leadership that included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda campaigned for the party and got tremendous support from the people.
“BJP will emerge victorious on October 8 and will start working on the formation of the government. We fought the elections on our own strength. Our target is to win the elections with the blessings of the people and we will achieve splendid victory,” he said.
J&K Congress president Tair Hameed Karra said the Congress-NC alliance is in a comfortable position to form the next government in the Union territory.
“This election was primarily to keep the BJP out of the power corridors, restoration of statehood along with land and job guarantees. I am seeing the (Congress-NC) alliance in a comfortable position to form the government,” Karra said.
He said the mandate of the people is formation of the government against “divisive forces and hatemongers”.
“People voted for redressal of their genuine grievances as they suffered a lot over the past 10 years with the top echelons of power both in the Raj Bhavan and Civil Secretariat working like kings. The BJP needs to explain to the people what they have done in the past 10 years,” Karra said.
He said the BJP has no moral right to accuse the NC and Congress of reviving terrorism and said, “Everyone knows that terrorism shifted from Kashmir to the peaceful Jammu region. Only the goal post has changed in the past 10 years.”
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said the exit polls were not reliable and it was too premature to talk about government formation.
“We have seen that exit polls are not reliable. What matters are the numbers that will come at the end of counting,” senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said.
Asked if the PDP will support the NC-Congress coalition if need be, Akhtar said it was premature to comment on that.
“They might not even need our support. Finally, a decision on this matter will be taken by the party. All said and done, we are still part of the INDIA bloc. We have not gone anywhere,” he added.
The C-Voter-India Today survey predicted 40-48 seats for the NC-Congress alliance and put the BJP at 27-32 seats in the 90-member J&K assembly.
Dainik Bhaskar pegged the NC-Congress alliance at 35-40 and the BJP at 20-25.
Peoples’ Pulse saw the NC-Congress alliance with 46-50 seats as against the BJP’s 23-27, while Republic-Gulistan put the the NC-Congress tally lower at 31-36 as against the BJP’s 28-30.
In different polls, the PDP was seen winning between 5 and 12 seats, while other candidates were also seen bagging 4-16 seats.
The results of the assembly elections will be announced on October 8.
Meanwhile, a recent survey by the Centre for Global Studies at Delhi University predicted that the Congress is set to form the government in Haryana, while its alliance with National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to secure a majority.
The online survey, carried out between September 11 and October 3, involved 8,429 voters across 90 constituencies in each state.
According to the survey results, the Congress is expected to secure 46 seats out of 90 in Haryana, edging out the BJP, which is predicted to win 38 seats.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance is projected to win 45 seats in the 90-member assembly, with the BJP trailing behind with 27 seats, the survey forecast.
The centre’s study is part of the CGS Review series, marking the 12th major election survey conducted by the institute. Around 700 students and researchers from various universities participated in the survey.
Professor Sunil K Chaudhary, Director of the Centre for Global Studies (CGS), described the results as a sign of India’s “democratic rise”, contrasting it with the “democratic instability” seen in some Western nations, the survey report stated.