BJP makes gains in Kashmir

Bharatiya Janata Party wins 25 of 87 seats in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party made big electoral gains in Jammu and Kashmir and captured power in an eastern state on Tuesday, underscoring the Hindu nationalists’ dominance of the political landscape.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25 of 87 seats in Kashmir, its best showing ever in the state, but still way short of a simple majority that it wanted to seize power.

Modi himself campaigned heavily across Kashmir, a top priority for his party which wants closer integration of the revolt-torn Himalayan region with the rest of the country. Still, it will remain a key player in the state where no single group attained a majority, raising the prospect of a coalition government led by the regional People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which won 28 seats.

The rest of the seats were shared by regional parties, the Congress party and independents.

Hurriyat leaders rejected the election and urged Kashmiris to boycott the elections. “In Jammu and Kashmir we have improved our position significantly,” BJP  President Amit Shah said. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2014.