Almost all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have rejected the exit polls of the assembly elections, which were held after a gap of ten years, and a former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader called them “just time pass”.
Although some exit polls have predicted a NC-Congress coalition government in the UT while others have predicted a hung assembly, NC chief Dr Farooq Abdullah said he does not believe in exit polls.
His son, Omar Abdullah, who contested the election from two constituencies, wrote on X; “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”.
J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra said “We trust exact polls over exit polls”.
Speaking of exit polls, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who contested from Kulgam, said; “the people of J&K want a non-BJP government to be formed”.
BJP’s national general secretary and J&K incharge, Tarun Chugh said that the outcome on the day of counting will “defy the findings of the exit polls”.
A senior PDP leader, Waheed Para wrote on X; “As election results near, the truth remains — there are no real winners. Even if one party secures all the seats, the process is powerless. As long as J&K remains a Union Territory, an elected government has little meaning….” “People have voted with high hopes, but in this set up, delivering on those promises will be a challenge for everyone involved”.
Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat Conference chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that holding assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir would not solve the Kashmir issue and advocated for peaceful means of outreach and dialogue on the matter.
Meanwhile, UT’s Congress President Karra said,” The Indian National Congress has said that we are ready to hold a dialogue and associate with all those parties and people who are ready to throw BJP out of the power corridor. Everyone is welcome if they are on the same page and are like-minded.”
Karra held a meeting with Congress candidates and said people have voted for the Congress-NC alliance and this is the endorsement of the purpose for which the alliance was formed, to keep the BJP out of the power corridors.
On Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chairman, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Karra said “If today Ghulam Nabi Azad’s ideologies match with Congress and if he accepts the leadership and guiding principles of Congress, then he is welcomed in this pious programme. If any independent leader or political party will be on the same page in keeping the BJP out of power, then our doors are open for them. As of now, Ghulam Nabi Azad is not on the same page”.
Karra said that the meeting was held to collect the experiences the Congress candidates had in elections and the sort of difficulties they had faced in the elections. ”There was a consensus that they had to face a large number of complaints of liquor, money and other things being transported. The candidates said that they had been conveying these complaints to the administration. But, there was no cooperation from their side,” he said.
They also discussed the issue of the nomination of five MLAs by the Lt Governor. ”It was discussed and agreed that the President of India doesn’t have the arbitrary powers to nominate a person. Because the Constitution says that the President of India can nominate anyone with the advice and guidance of the government, how come the LG of a UT can have those arbitrary powers,” Karra added.
On the other hand, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has expressed readiness to support the formation of any “secular government” in J&K to keep the BJP out of power.