2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election

Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over seven days in November and December 2008. The previous government led by the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) in coalition with the Indian National Congress (INC) collapsed when the PDP withdrew. Following the election, the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) agreed on a coalition with Congress and their leader, Omar Abdullah became the state's youngest-ever Chief Minister at 38.

Background

Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir state Assembly were due in 2008, following the end of the term of the Assembly elected in 2002. However, the PDP withdrew from the INC-led state government in protest at the Amarnath land transfer decision. The INC government resigned in July 2008 and the state was brought under the direct rule of the central government pending the elections.

Boycott

The main Kashmiri separatist group, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference called on Kashmiris to boycott the elections, saying the elections were a "futile exercise" that would never "fulfill the aspirations of the people".

Despite these boycott calls, NC leaders claimed that activists from Jamaat-e-Islami had come out and voted for the PDP.

There were scattered separatist protests throughout the elections, including hundreds who protested in Srinagar. Police prevented these protestors from marching to the center of the city which led to protestors throwing stones at the police who fired tear gas and used baton charges.

Security

Indian election officials voiced major concerns about the security of the elections given the calls for a boycott and protest from separatist leaders and the recent violence over the Amarnath land transfer controversy. Voting was staggered so that security forces could maintain control. Thousands of security forces were deployed during the voting. In Srinagar, security forces were posted at junctions, patrolled the streets, and guarded polling stations. An unofficial curfew was enforced, gatherings of more than five people banned and neighborhoods were sealed off with steel barricades and razor wire.

Police also arrested three men they accused of being Jaish-e-Mohammed members planning suicide attacks in Jammu. One of those arrested was a soldier in the Army of Pakistan, who Pakistan said had deserted in 2006. However following the polls the NC leader, Farooq Abdullah, thanked the Pakistan government for their "non-interference" with the polls.

Results

The seven stages of the elections were held as follows:

File:Jammu Kashmir state elections, 2008 stages.svg

Voting stages

	Date	Seats	Turnout
	Monday 17 November	10	69.02%
	Sunday 23 November	6	68.29%
	Sunday 30 November	5	68.22%
	Sunday 7 December	18	59.24%
	Saturday 13 December	11	58.5%
	Wednesday 17 December	16	65.93%
	Wednesday 24 December	21	52.0%
	Total	87	60.5%
Source:

Turnout rose by 17%, despite calls from Kashmiri separatists and Pakistan for Kashmiris to boycott the election. INC head Sonia Gandhi described the polls as "a triumph of Indian democracy".

Separatist supporters were said to have backed the PDP. The BJP's increase in support was said to be due to polarisation arising from the Amarnath land transfer controversy, which led it to increase its seat tally from 1 to 11 seats.

1,354 candidates stood for election including 517 independents and nominees from 43 political parties.

Summary

Template:Election table |- ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Flag ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" |+/– |- | style="text-align:left;" |National Conference | style="text-align:left;" |File:JKNC-flag.svg | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 28 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 0 |- | style="text-align:left;" |People's Democratic Party | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 21 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | +5 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Indian National Congress | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 17 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | -3 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Bharatiya Janata Party | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 11 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | +10 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party | style="text-align:left;" |File:Indian Election Symbol Cycle.png | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 3 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | -1 |- | style="text-align:left;" |Communist Party of India (Marxist) | style="text-align:left;" |File:CPI-M-flag.svg | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 1 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | -1 |- | style="text-align:left;" |People's Democratic Front | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 1 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | |- | style="text-align:left;" |Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 1 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | |- | style="text-align:left;" | Independents | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | 4 | style="text-align:right;vertical-align:top;" | |- | style="text-align:left;background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan=2|Total (turnout 60.5%) ! style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9"| 87 ! style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9"| |- | style="text-align:left;" colspan=12 |Source: Electoral Commission of IndiaTemplate:Dead link |}

Elected Members

Constituency	Reserved for (SC/None)	Member	Party
Karnah	None	Kafil Ur Rehman	Template:Full party name with color
Kupwara	None	Mir Saifullah	Template:Full party name with color
Lolab	None	Abdul Haq Khan	Template:Full party name with color
Handwara	None	Chowdary Mohd Ramzan	Template:Full party name with color
Langate	None	Ab Rashid Sheikh	Template:Full party name with color
Uri	None	Taj Mohi-ud-din	Template:Full party name with color
Rafiabad	None	Javaid Ahmad Dar	Template:Full party name with color
Sopore	None	Mohd Ashraf Ganie	Template:Full party name with color
Gurez	None	Nazir Ahmad Khan	Template:Full party name with color
Bandipora	None	Nizamuddin Bhat	Template:Full party name with color
Sonawari	None	Mohd. Akbar Lone	Template:Full party name with color
Sangrama	None	Syed Basharat Ahmad	Template:Full party name with color
Baramulla	None	Muzaffar Hussain Baig	Template:Full party name with color
Gulmarg	None	Gh Hassan Mir	Template:Full party name with color
Pattan	None	Iftikhar Hussain Ansari	Template:Full party name with color
Kangan	None	Altaf Ahmad	Template:Full party name with color
Ganderbal	None	Omar Abdullah	Template:Full party name with color
Hazratbal	None	Farooq Abdullah	Template:Full party name with color
Zadibal	None	Peer Aafaq Ahmed	Template:Full party name with color
Idgah	None	Mubarak Ahmad Gul	Template:Full party name with color
Khanyar	None	Ali Mohammad Sagar	Template:Full party name with color
Habbakadal	None	Shameema Firdous	Template:Full party name with color
Amirakadal	None	Nasir Aslam Wani	Template:Full party name with color
Sonawar	None	Farooq Abdullah	Template:Full party name with color
Batamaloo	None	Mohamad Irfan Shah	Template:Full party name with color
Chadoora	None	Javaid Mustaffa Mir	Template:Full party name with color
Badgam	None	Aga Syed Ruhullah	Template:Full party name with color
Beerwah	None	Shafi Ahmad Wani	Template:Full party name with color
Khansahib	None	Hakeem Mohammad Yasin	Template:Full party name with color
Chrari Sharief	None	Abdul Rahim Rather	Template:Full party name with color
Tral	None	Mushtaq Ahmad Shah	Template:Full party name with color
Pampore	None	Zahoor Ahmad	Template:Full party name with color
Pulwama	None	Mohd Khalil Bandh	Template:Full party name with color
Rajpora	None	Syed Bashir Ahmad Shah	Template:Full party name with color
Wachi	None	Mehbooba Mufti	Template:Full party name with color
Shopian	None	Abdul Razaq Wagay	Template:Full party name with color
Noorabad	None	Sakina Itoo	Template:Full party name with color
Kulgam	None	Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami	Template:Full party name with color
Homeshalibugh	None	Abdul Gaffar Sofi	Template:Full party name with color
Anantnag	None	Mufti Mohammad Sayeed	Template:Full party name with color
Devsar	None	Mohammad Sartaj Madni	Template:Full party name with color
Dooru	None	Ghulam Ahmad Mir	Template:Full party name with color
Kokernag	None	Peerzada Mohd. Syed	Template:Full party name with color
Shangus	None	Peerzada Mansoor Hussain	Template:Full party name with color
Bijbehara	None	Abdul Rehman Bhat	Template:Full party name with color
Pahalgam	None	Rafi Ahmad Mir	Template:Full party name with color
Nobra	None	Tsetan Namgyal	Template:Full party name with color
Leh	None	Nawang Rigzin	Template:Full party name with color
Kargil	None	Qamar Ali Akhoon	Template:Full party name with color
Zanskar	None	Feroz Ahmed Khan	Template:Full party name with color
Kishtwar	None	Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo	Template:Full party name with color
Inderwal	None	Ghulam Mohd Saroori	Template:Full party name with color
Doda	None	Abdul Majid Wani	Template:Full party name with color
Bhaderwah	None	Ghulam Nabi Azad	Template:Full party name with color
Ramban	SC	Ashok Kumar	Template:Full party name with color
Banihal	None	Vikar Rasool	Template:Full party name with color
Gulabgarh	None	Abdul Gani Malik	Template:Full party name with color
Reasi	None	Baldev Raj	Template:Full party name with color
Gool Arnas	None	Ajaz Ahmed Khan	Template:Full party name with color
Udhampur	None	Balwant Singh Mankotia	Template:Full party name with color
Chanani	SC	Krishan Chander	Template:Full party name with color
Ramnagar	None	Harsh Dev Singh	Template:Full party name with color
Bani	None	Lal Chand	Template:Full party name with color
Basohli	None	Jagdish Raj Sapolia	Template:Full party name with color
Kathua	None	Charanjit Singh	Template:Full party name with color
Billawar	None	Manohar Lal Sharma	Template:Full party name with color
Hiranagar	SC	Durga Dass	Template:Full party name with color
Samba	SC	Yash Paul Kundal	Template:Full party name with color
Vijaypur	None	Surjit Singh	Template:Full party name with color
Nagrota	None	Jugal Kishore	Template:Full party name with color
GandhinagarTemplate:Dn	None	Raman Bhalla	Template:Full party name with color
Jammu East	None	Ashok Kumar Khajuria	Template:Full party name with color
Jammu West	None	Chaman Lal Gupta	Template:Full party name with color
Bishnah	None	Ashwani Kumar Sharma	Template:Full party name with color
R.s. Pura	SC	Gharu Ram Bhagat	Template:Full party name with color
Suchetgarh	None	Sham Lal Choudhary	Template:Full party name with color
Marh	None	Sukh Nandan Kumar	Template:Full party name with color
Raipur Domana	SC	Bharat Bhushan	Template:Full party name with color
Akhnoor	None	Sham Lal Sharma	Template:Full party name with color
Chhamb	SC	Tara Chand	Template:Full party name with color
Nowshera	None	Radhay Sham Sharma	Template:Full party name with color
Darhal	None	Zulfkar Ali	Template:Full party name with color
Rajouri	None	Shabbir Ahmed Khan	Template:Full party name with color
Kalakote	None	Rachhpal Singh	Template:Full party name with color
Surankote	None	Mohd. Aslam	Template:Full party name with color
Mendhar	None	Sardar Rafiq Hussain Khan	Template:Full party name with color
Poonch Haveli	None	Ajaz Ahmed Jan	Template:Full party name with color

Government formation

Former National Conference Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, said he did not want to return as it "required the energy of a younger man", and nominated his son, Omar Abdullah, and the head of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference instead.

Congress debated forming a coalition with either Conference or the PDP. It was reported that the PDP had offered to support a Congress candidate for Chief Minister if they joined with them. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi were reported to favor the largest party to "honor the mandate" of the election.

On 30 December Congress and the National Conference agreed to form a coalition government, with Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister.