1977 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election

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Last edited January 10, 2026


Template:Infobox election

Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over June 1977,[1] which are generally regarded as the first 'free and fair' elections in the state.Template:Sfn Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, newly revived from the former Plebiscite Front, won an overwhelming majority and re-elected Sheikh Abdullah as the Chief Minister.[2] The Janata Party won 13 seats and emerged as the second largest party.

Background

After reaching the 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord, Sheikh Abdullah was elected as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir by the ruling Indian National Congress party in the state legislature (which had in fact been the original National Conference founded by Abdullah in 1930s but merged into Congress before the 1967 elections). Abdullah remained in power during the National Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975. After the Emergency was lifted, the Janata Party came to power in the Centre in the 1977 general election.Template:Sfn

Elections were called for the state Legislative Assembly in June 1977. Sheikh Abdullah now revived the National Conference from the erstwhile Plebiscite Front. The National Conference and Congress met head-on as equals, the first time such an electoral contest occurred since the State's Accession in 1947. The Prime Minister Morarji Desai (of the Janata Party) took steps to strengthen security in the state and declared that any rigging would be severely punished. This had a 'salutary effect' in the political atmosphere in the state witnessing its first 'free and fair' election.[3]

The revival of the National Conference was greeted with great enthusiasm in the Kashmir Valley. In the words of Kashmiri, "the entire valley was red with N. C. flags. Every house and every market stood decorated with bunting."Template:Sfn

Results

The National Conference won the majority in the Assembly with 47 of the 76 seats.Template:Sfn Whereas it won 40 of the 42 seats in the Kashmir Valley, it was able to win only 7 seats out of 32 in the Jammu province.Template:Sfn

The Indian National Congress (former National Conference, which had been in power since the State's accession) was reduced to third place, winning 11 seats in Jammu and none in the Valley.Template:Sfn

The Janata Party (which had incorporated the former Jammu Praja Parishad) won 13 seats, its best performance so far. In addition to 11 seats in Jammu, it won 2 seats in the Valley for the first time.Template:Sfn

Also significant is the fact that Jamaat-e-Islami won only one seat, down from 5 seats in the previous Assembly.Template:Sfn

Template:Election results

Results by constituency

Winner, runner-up, voter turnout, and victory margin in every constituency[4]
Assembly Constituency Turnout Winner Runner Up Margin
#k Names % Candidate Party Votes % Candidate Party Votes %
1 Karnah 67.94% Ghulam Qadir Mir Template:Party name with color 12,357 46.31% Mohammed Yunis Khan Template:Party name with color 7,641 28.64% style="background:Template:Party color"|4,716
2 Handwara 83.41% Abdul Ghani Lone Template:Party name with color 17,021 51.78% Sharif Ud Din Template:Party name with color 14,702 44.73% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,319
3 Langate 74.63% Mohammad Sultan Ganai Template:Party name with color 11,976 50.04% Abdul Gani Mir Template:Party name with color 3,657 15.28% style="background:Template:Party color"|8,319
4 Kupwara 62.7% Assad Ullah Shah Template:Party name with color 13,780 56.41% Ghulam Nabi Template:Party name with color 4,834 19.79% style="background:Template:Party color"|8,946
5 Bandipora 68.45% Mohammad Khalil Naik Template:Party name with color 18,032 70.94% Mohammed Anwar Khan Template:Party name with color 2,299 9.04% style="background:Template:Party color"|15,733
6 Sonawari 84.98% Abdul Aziz Parray Template:Party name with color 21,074 67.99% Mohammad Akbar Lone Template:Party name with color 9,923 32.01% style="background:Template:Party color"|11,151
7 Pattan 87.37% Abdul Rashid Shaheen Template:Party name with color 15,738 53.99% Iftikhar Hussain Ansari Template:Party name with color 12,734 43.69% style="background:Template:Party color"|3,004
8 Gulmarg 40.85% Mohmad Akbar Lone Template:Party name with color 15,700 78.59% Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Beg Template:Party name with color 2,334 11.68% style="background:Template:Party color"|13,366
9 Sangrama 73.88% Ghulam Rasool Template:Party name with color 13,609 70.69% Sharif Ud Din Template:Party name with color 2,106 10.94% style="background:Template:Party color"|11,503
10 Sopore 85.9% Syed Ali Shah Geelani Template:Party name with color 16,717 49.14% Hakeem Habibullah Template:Party name with color 16,684 49.04% style="background:Template:Party color"|33
11 Rafiabad 72.21% Mohammad Dilawar Mir Template:Party name with color 14,696 68.52% Ghulam Rasool Kar Template:Party name with color 3,517 16.4% style="background:Template:Party color"|11,179
12 Baramulla 66.78% Ghulam Ud-Din Shah Template:Party name with color 11,509 55.64% Ghulam Meha Safi Template:Party name with color 4,472 21.62% style="background:Template:Party color"|7,037
13 Uri 68.17% Mohammad Shafi Template:Party name with color 11,921 65.56% Mohammed Mazaffar Khan Template:Party name with color 3,309 18.2% style="background:Template:Party color"|8,612
14 Kangan 76.12% Mian Bashir Ahmed Template:Party name with color 20,808 87.07% Mohammed Afzi Template:Party name with color 3,090 12.93% style="background:Template:Party color"|17,718
15 Ganderbal 87.27% Sheikh Abdullah Template:Party name with color 26,162 88.17% Ali Mohamd Taria Template:Party name with color 3,509 11.83% style="background:Template:Party color"|22,653
16 Hazratbal 82.59% Hissa Ud Din Template:Party name with color 23,032 80.74% Mohammed Iliyas Template:Party name with color 5,081 17.81% style="background:Template:Party color"|17,951
17 Amira Kadal 74.54% Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Shoh Template:Party name with color 14,515 57.74% Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Wani Template:Party name with color 10,340 41.13% style="background:Template:Party color"|4,175
18 Habba Kadal 70.62% Ghulam Mohammed Butt Template:Party name with color 16,356 47.53% Jag Mohini Template:Party name with color 14,084 40.92% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,272
19 Zaina Kadal 85.39% Molvi Mohammed Yasin Hamdani Template:Party name with color 23,414 61.79% Sheikh Ali Mohammad Template:Party name with color 14,476 38.21% style="background:Template:Party color"|8,938
20 Eidgah 80.77% Abdul Rashid Kabuli Template:Party name with color 18,255 52.83% Ghulam Rasool Rashi Template:Party name with color 16,298 47.17% style="background:Template:Party color"|1,957
21 Zadibal 81.71% Ghulam Ahmad Shunthoo Template:Party name with color 23,401 51.55% Salin Anwar Dhar Template:Party name with color 21,522 47.41% style="background:Template:Party color"|1,879
22 Nagin 78.58% Abdul Samad Teli Template:Party name with color 13,856 61.51% Ghulam Mohmad Bawan Template:Party name with color 8,397 37.28% style="background:Template:Party color"|5,459
23 Beerwah 72.91% Ahmad Saeed Template:Party name with color 14,918 60.73% Syed Ali Shah Template:Party name with color 7,737 31.5% style="background:Template:Party color"|7,181
24 Khan Sahib 66.42% Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen Shah Template:Party name with color 15,647 73.94% Ghulam Qadir War Template:Party name with color 3,814 18.02% style="background:Template:Party color"|11,833
25 Budgam 84.54% Syed Ghulam Hussain Geelani Template:Party name with color 14,324 49.83% Aga Sayeed Hassan Template:Party name with color 11,799 41.05% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,525
26 Chadoora 77.67% Abdul Samad Mir Template:Party name with color 13,103 64.86% Mir Mustafa Template:Party name with color 4,699 23.26% style="background:Template:Party color"|8,404
27 Charari Sharief 71.84% Abdul Rahim Rather Template:Party name with color 14,766 71.96% Abdul Qayoom Template:Party name with color 4,764 23.22% style="background:Template:Party color"|10,002
28 Pulwama 73.27% Mohammad Ibrahim Dar Template:Party name with color 18,712 72.58% Abdul Kashid Wani Template:Party name with color 2,537 9.84% style="background:Template:Party color"|16,175
29 Pampore 83.36% Mohiuddin Malik Template:Party name with color 22,877 82.11% Peer Ghulam Hassan Masoodi Template:Party name with color 2,409 8.65% style="background:Template:Party color"|20,468
30 Tral 84.72% Mohammed Subhan Bhat Template:Party name with color 13,315 46.05% Ali Muhammad Naik Template:Party name with color 11,859 41.02% style="background:Template:Party color"|1,456
31 Wachi 78.31% Ghulam Qadir Wani Template:Party name with color 16,690 67.04% Bashir Ahmed Magrey Template:Party name with color 3,172 12.74% style="background:Template:Party color"|13,518
32 Shopian 73.06% Sheikh Mohammed Mansoor Template:Party name with color 15,133 59.34% Hakim Ghulam Nabi Template:Party name with color 4,763 18.68% style="background:Template:Party color"|10,370
33 Noorabad 71.74% Wali Mohammad Itoo Template:Party name with color 12,407 58.76% Abdul Aziz Zargar Template:Party name with color 5,589 26.47% style="background:Template:Party color"|6,818
34 Devsar 79.38% Ghulam Nabi Kochak Template:Party name with color 14,921 59.95% Manohar Nath Kaul Template:Party name with color 4,623 18.58% style="background:Template:Party color"|10,298
35 Kulgam 74.92% Ghulam Nabi Dar Template:Party name with color 8,833 42.63% Abdul Razak Mir Template:Party name with color 6,403 30.91% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,430
36 Hom Shali Bugh 81.79% Abdul Salam Deva Template:Party name with color 12,959 56.77% Ali Mohammed Dar Template:Party name with color 5,897 25.83% style="background:Template:Party color"|7,062
37 Pahalgam 77.13% Piyare Lal Handoo Template:Party name with color 14,764 68.78% Ghulam Rasool Kochah Template:Party name with color 4,283 19.95% style="background:Template:Party color"|10,481
38 Srigufwara–Bijbehara 84.62% Abdul Gani Shah Template:Party name with color 16,059 63.92% Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Template:Party name with color 8,081 32.16% style="background:Template:Party color"|7,978
39 Anantnag 88.35% Mirza Mohammed Afzal Beg Template:Party name with color 15,893 63.13% Sheikh Abdul Majid Template:Party name with color 9,283 36.87% style="background:Template:Party color"|6,610
40 Shangus–Anantnag East 77.62% Mohammed Ashraf Khan Template:Party name with color 15,568 70.21% Mohammed Maqbool Template:Party name with color 4,162 18.77% style="background:Template:Party color"|11,406
41 Kokernag 74.91% Malik Ghulam Ud Din Template:Party name with color 14,854 65.52% Peer Hissam Ud Din Template:Party name with color 5,339 23.55% style="background:Template:Party color"|9,515
42 Dooru 74.25% Haji Abdul Gani Khan Template:Party name with color 10,817 51.44% Sneer Aki Boda Template:Party name with color 5,472 26.02% style="background:Template:Party color"|5,345
43 Leh 64.79% Sonam Narboo Template:Party name with color 11,736 61.17% Soham Gyaltsan Template:Party name with color 7,450 38.83% style="background:Template:Party color"|4,286
44 Kargil 72.87% Munshi Habibullah Template:Party name with color 13,549 54.42% Kachoo Mohammed Ali Khan Template:Party name with color 11,021 44.27% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,528
45 Kishtwar 51.1% Bashir Ahmed Kichloo Template:Party name with color 3,910 27.15% Ghulam Hussain Arman Template:Party name with color 3,385 23.51% style="background:Template:Party color"|525
46 Inderwal 37.1% Sheikh Ghulam Mohammed Template:Party name with color 5,296 44.38% Abdul Ghani Goni Template:Party name with color 2,530 21.2% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,766
47 Bhaderwah 36.34% Narain Dass Template:Party name with color 4,535 40.96% Thakur Dass Template:Party name with color 3,745 33.82% style="background:Template:Party color"|790
48 Doda 48.42% Ghulam Qadir Wani Template:Party name with color 5,342 39.02% Attaullah Sohrawardi Template:Party name with color 4,384 32.02% style="background:Template:Party color"|958
49 Ramban 45.72% Prem Nath Template:Party name with color 3,472 28.64% Labhu Ram Template:Party name with color 3,035 25.03% style="background:Template:Party color"|437
50 Banihal 52.67% Molvi Abdul Rashid Template:Party name with color 7,460 51.83% Modh. Akthar Nizami Template:Party name with color 3,290 22.86% style="background:Template:Party color"|4,170
51 Gulabgarh 47.6% Haji Buland Khan Template:Party name with color 8,723 58.15% Mohammed Ayub Khan Template:Party name with color 3,203 21.35% style="background:Template:Party color"|5,520
52 Reasi 54.7% Rishi Kumar Kaushal Template:Party name with color 9,931 52.84% Raghunath Das Template:Party name with color 2,699 14.36% style="background:Template:Party color"|7,232
53 Udhampur 53.2% Shiv Charan Gupta Template:Party name with color 9,363 44.14% Faqir Chand Template:Party name with color 8,763 41.31% style="background:Template:Party color"|600
54 Chenani 44.98% Bhim Singh Template:Party name with color 7,674 52.43% Ishar Dass Template:Party name with color 4,005 27.36% style="background:Template:Party color"|3,669
55 Ramnagar 38.08% Prithvi Chand Template:Party name with color 7,300 53.19% Ram Dass Template:Party name with color 4,071 29.66% style="background:Template:Party color"|3,229
56 Samba 62.22% Dhayan Singh Template:Party name with color 6,349 25.61% Harbans Singh Template:Party name with color 4,728 19.07% style="background:Template:Party color"|1,621
57 Bari Brahmana 59.58% Gurnbachan Kumari Template:Party name with color 8,124 39.21% Gouri Shankar Template:Party name with color 7,521 36.3% style="background:Template:Party color"|603
58 Bishnah 62.31% Parma Nand Template:Party name with color 9,441 43.17% Ram Chand Template:Party name with color 7,357 33.64% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,084
59 Ranbir Singh Pora–Jammu South 74.38% Janak Raj Gupta Template:Party name with color 12,603 48.46% Rangil Singh Template:Party name with color 7,166 27.55% style="background:Template:Party color"|5,437
60 Jammu Cantonment 55.35% Parduman Singh Template:Party name with color 5,600 28.6% Ved Bhasin Template:Party name with color 5,426 27.71% style="background:Template:Party color"|174
61 Jammu West 53.73% Harbans Lal Bhagotra Template:Party name with color 10,956 54.76% Romesh Chander Template:Party name with color 7,599 37.98% style="background:Template:Party color"|3,357
62 Jammu East 52.99% Ram Nath Bhalgotra Template:Party name with color 13,179 61.78% Amrit Kumar Malhotra Template:Party name with color 5,141 24.1% style="background:Template:Party color"|8,038
63 Jandrah Gharota 61.07% Dhan Raj Bargotra Template:Party name with color 8,550 38.08% Ranjit Singh Template:Party name with color 6,112 27.22% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,438
64 Marh 54.6% Tulsi Ram Template:Party name with color 5,527 32.96% Sushil Kumar Template:Party name with color 4,553 27.15% style="background:Template:Party color"|974
65 Akhnoor 70.63% Dharam Pal Template:Party name with color 8,635 37.67% Govind Ram Sharma Template:Party name with color 4,517 19.7% style="background:Template:Party color"|4,118
66 Chhamb 74.39% Ram Nath Template:Party name with color 9,352 38.52% Dewan Singh Template:Party name with color 4,106 16.91% style="background:Template:Party color"|5,246
67 Basohli 45.32% Mangat Ram Sharma Template:Party name with color 4,829 29.96% Uttam Chand Template:Party name with color 3,885 24.1% style="background:Template:Party color"|944
68 Billawar 54.25% Dhian Singh Template:Party name with color 12,328 57.57% Thakur Randhir Singh Template:Party name with color 6,258 29.23% style="background:Template:Party color"|6,070
69 Kathua 60.96% Dhain Chand Template:Party name with color 10,022 44.9% Punjabu Ram Alias Punjab Singh Template:Party name with color 9,023 40.43% style="background:Template:Party color"|999
70 Hiranagar 69.54% Girdhari Lal Dogra Template:Party name with color 13,623 50.39% Rattan Lal Template:Party name with color 9,912 36.66% style="background:Template:Party color"|3,711
71 Nowshera 60.01% Beli Ram Template:Party name with color 7,832 30.89% Rattan Singh Template:Party name with color 7,416 29.25% style="background:Template:Party color"|416
72 Darhal 46.9% Chowdhary Mohmmad Hussain Template:Party name with color 11,433 57.94% Abdul Rashid Mirza Template:Party name with color 4,717 23.91% style="background:Template:Party color"|6,716
73 Rajouri 59.62% Talib Hussain Template:Party name with color 9,390 39.98% Mohammed Sharif Template:Party name with color 7,365 31.36% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,025
74 Surankote 68.84% Aslam Chowdhary Mohammad Template:Party name with color 11,608 52.37% Mohammed Syed Beg Template:Party name with color 9,346 42.16% style="background:Template:Party color"|2,262
75 Mendhar 65.23% Rafiq Hissain Khan Template:Party name with color 6,556 30.96% Mohammed Sadiq Template:Party name with color 6,479 30.59% style="background:Template:Party color"|77
76 Haveli 48.26% Ghulam Ahmed Template:Party name with color 8,915 51.31% Lal Hussain Mustaq Template:Party name with color 4,616 26.57% style="background:Template:Party color"|4,299

Government formation

Sheikh Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the State following the election. Mirza Afzal Beg was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir .

By the end of the 1970s, the seventy-year-old Sheikh Abdullah anointed his son Farooq Abdullah as his successor. Following Sheikh's death in 1982, Farooq Abdullah was appointed as the Chief Minister. The National Conference government completed a full five-year term.Template:Sfn

Before his death, Sheikh Abdullah initiated a controversial 'Grant of Permit for Resettlement' bill in the State's Legislative Assembly. As per the bill, any state subject of Jammu and Kashmir before 14 May 1954 or any of his descendants could apply for resettlement in the State provided they swore allegiance to both the Indian Constitution and the Constitution of the State. The bill was passed by the Legislative Assembly after Sheikh's death, but it aroused fears among the Hindus of Jammu that Pakistani sympathizers and agents could cross into the State and create tensions. The Central government forced Farooq Abdullah to refer the bill to the Supreme Court of India where it has been put into cold storage.Template:Sfn

Commentary

All the elections held in Jammu and Kashmir before 1977 were plagued with corrupt electoral practices.Template:Sfn The elections of 1977 represented a 'democratic breakthrough', according to scholar Steve Widmalm. Politician Bhim Singh stated, 'Morarji Desai openly declared that anyone who would attempt to pursue some form of rigging would be severely punished, and this was quite effective'. The Congress party in the Central Government has therefore been regarded as an obstacle to the State's democratic functioning. The party regarded Jammu and Kashmir to be a sensitive border state, which was not 'ready for democracy'. Building Indian nationalism was considered far more important. Activist Balraj Puri has disagreed with the sentiment. In his view, democratic functioning was indeed a prerequisite to integration and national unity. As a result of the democratization process, he has asserted that there were ten years of peace with 'no fundamentalism, no secessionism, and no communalism'. JKLF's Amanullah Khan has also endorsed the assessment. The observers he sent to the Kashmir Valley during the early 1980s reported that the situation was not conducive to inciting a rebellion.Template:Sfn Journalist Tavleen Singh who covered the subsequent Assembly election in 1983 asked people wherever she went whether they regarded the plebiscite as an issue. 'Almost everywhere the answer was an emphatic no. People said that the past was dead and they were participating in this election as Indians,' she recounted.Template:Sfn

References

  1. ↑ 1977 J&K elections
  2. ↑ Statistical report J&K 1977
  3. ↑ Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb
  4. ↑ Statistical Report on General Election, 1977 to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

Bibliography

Template:Jammu and Kashmir elections

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