The results of the 17th Lok Sabha Elections 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir will be out today. The election for the six seats – Baramulla, Ladakh, Srinagar, Udhampur, Anantnag and Jammu of the north Indian state was held in five phases on 11th, 18th, 23rd, 29th April and 6th May 2019. The prevailing security situation in the state post the Pulwama attack of February 14 saw limited voter turnout in several constituencies of Kashmir valley. The Jammu region remained normal along with Ladakh. The four prominent parties in the state that vied for seats are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP and the BJP led a coalition government in the state which ended when the latter opted out of it. This resulted in the PDP launching a massive offensive against the central government throughout the election campaign. The NC and the Congress stuck a pre-poll alliance for the General Elections to boost their chances. The BJP with not a strong presence in Kashmir fielded candidates on all the six seats and remained the only party to do so.

Some of the big names in the fray are central minister Jitendra Singh from Udhampur, Farooq Abdullah from Srinagar and Mehbooba Mufti from Anantnag. These seats get a special mention in the media as the VIP constituencies with a special focus on their outcome. Jitendra Singh, the most prominent face of BJP in the state holds is in charge of a quite a few ministries while we all know the stature of Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who have been former Chief Ministers.

The holy month of Ramzan along with security concerns led to a polling percentage drop in several areas. Anantnag was the worst hit with only 8.8 % voter turnout, a significant drop from the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. Srinagar with 14% polling did not fare better either with Baramulla a tad better at 34.29 %.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates on the Jammu and Kashmir elections which could have a huge impact on the next assembly elections in the state.