NC-Congress lead in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP ahead in Haryana

According to early trends from Tuesday’s vote counting, the National Conference (NC)-Congress alliance has taken the lead in 46 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ahead in 23 constituencies in the race for control of the 90-member assembly in India’s only Muslim-majority region.

In Haryana, the ruling BJP has surpassed the halfway mark of 45 seats in the 90-member assembly, leading in 48 constituencies. Meanwhile, the main opposition Congress is ahead in 33 seats, according to the Election Commission's latest updates.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission's data showed that the National Conference was leading in 39 seats, while its ally, Congress, was ahead in seven. Trends for 64 of the 90 seats have been released so far. The regional People's Democratic Party (PDP) is ahead in three seats, while independent candidates are leading in eight. Smaller parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], People's Conference, and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) each lead in one seat.

Among the prominent leaders ahead in the polls are National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, who leads in both constituencies where he contested, Pradesh Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra, Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami, and BJP’s former ministers Sham Lal Sharma and Devender Singh Rana.

However, in a notable race, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina is trailing by 2,797 votes behind National Conference candidate Surinder Choudhary in the Nowshera constituency.