In the 2024 state elections of Haryana State of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to maintain its position in power by winning 48 seats, which surpassed the required majority of 46. On the other hand, in Jammu & Kashmir, the alliance between the Congress and the National Conference (NC) achieved progress by securing most of the seats in the region.
BJP’s Hat-Trick Victory in Haryana
The BJP’s win in Haryana is its third consecutive term and has helped it strengthen its control over the state. Once again, the party obtained a clear mandate, winning 48 out of 90 seats. Congress came in second place with 37 seats, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) only managed to get two seats, and the remaining independents won 3 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) proved ineffective, as none of its candidates could secure victory. AAP’s senior vice president, Anurag Dhanda, who had applied from Kalayat, was also unsuccessful in winning as he came seventh in his constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President JP Nadda recognised their party’s success as one rooted in the continuous emphasis on development and good governance. In his statement, which referred to the BJP workers, PM Modi was thankful for the hard work that the workers showed, and thus, the government would successfully satisfy the desire of the Haryana people. Nadda made a similar statement, saying that the citizens had declared they did not want Congress’s “divisive politics” and went for a welfare and growth-based government.
Congress-NC Takes Control of Jammu & Kashmir
The Congress-NC alliance crossed the halfway mark to emerge victorious in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw a polarisation away from the PDP in one of its strongholds. The alliance comfortably crossed the halfway majority mark as Congress secured 38 seats and NC took 12. The elections also saw several independents being elected, with seven candidates winning in different constituencies. Chhamb and Inderwal were won by Congress’ Satesh Sharma and Payare Lal Sharma.
The Jammu and Kashmir results confirm the BJP’s attrition, with votes wrapping themselves around local issues, giving the Congress-NC alliance a bigger victory. Bihar results are a significant challenge, and one of the key problems for the BJP is its own poor show coupled with breakthroughs made by independents, where it was hoping to leave a greater impact.
The results of the 2024 elections manifest different political sentiments across Haryana, Jammu, and Kashmir. The BJP in Haryana consolidates its chowk in the state through its governance and development agenda. The Congress-National Conference alliance in Jammu and Kashmir shows that there is a strong regional sense for national issues and an acknowledgement of regional allies shaping the political context.
Over time, there will certainly be shifts, with the BJP pursuing its development agenda in Haryana and the Congress-NC planning the agenda to address regional issues in Jammu and Kashmir. It is inevitable that the outcome of these elections will have ramifications on national political politics and could also impact the BJP and Congress political mobilisation for future contests.
