Jammu and Kashmir assembly election results 2024: 'Exit polls' a joke,' says Omar Abdullah as leads in Budgam, Ganderbal

Omar Abdullah/ File Photo

On Tuesday, National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah stated that anyone who paid for or discussed exit polls deserved to be mocked and ridiculed. Abdullah's statement comes as he takes a commanding lead in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam and Ganderbal constituencies.

Abdullah, in his post on X (formerly Twitter), wrote, "If you pay for exits polls or waste time discussing them you deserve all the jokes/memes/ridicule. There was a reason I called them a waste of time a few days ago."

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Jammu and Kashmir assembly election results 2024 will be announced today after the vote-counting process concludes at 6 pm. The counting began at 8 am.

Reportedly, Abdullah has received 32,344 votes, giving him a commanding lead of 16,294 votes against PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi in Budgam with only one round of counting remaining. Omar Abdullah is also leading in Ganderbal, a family stronghold, with a margin of over 5,000 votes against PDP's Bashir Ahmad Mir.

With the NC-Congress alliance ahead in 51 out of the 90 seats, Abdullah is considered a frontrunner for the post of chief minister, stated PTI reports.

Earlier in the day, Abdullah gave a statement emphasising the importance of respecting the people's mandate. He called for transparency in the election process and cautioned against any attempts to manipulate the results, stated the PTI report.

"There should be no fiddling with the mandate of the people. If the BJP is not favoured, they should not engage in 'jugaad' or other tactics to change the outcome," Abdullah said, urging the central government and Raj Bhavan to accept the people's decision.

The NC-Congress alliance has been leading in 51 seats, with the NC itself ahead in 43 and Congress in seven. Meanwhile, the BJP is leading in 28 seats, while other parties, including the PDP and Sajad Gani Lone's Peoples Conference, are ahead in a few seats. The PDP is currently leading in two seats, and six Independent candidates are also showing leads.

Senior NC leaders have expressed confidence in forming a government, with CPI(M) leader Tarigami, a key part of the NC-Congress alliance, stating that the people's vote has been against the BJP and its policies. He described the vote as a rejection of the bureaucratic and LG rule that has governed Jammu and Kashmir since 2018.

With PTI inputs