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National Conference appears heading for defeat

The ruling National Conference on Thursday appeared heading for a defeat in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir which are likely to throw a hung verdict with the possibility of the Congress and the PDP coming together for forming a coalition government.

Indicative of a National Conference rout was the defeat of the chief ministerial candidate Omar Abdullah, who lost by 2,000 votes in the Ganderbal constituency, traditionally held for long by the family with huge margins.

He lost to PDP's Qazi Mohammad Afzal.

As trends poured in, leaders of the Congress and the PDP spoke of the possibility of the two coming together for forming the government ousting the National Conference, which got a two-thirds majority in the 1996 elections.

So far, three results have been declared out of which the fledgling PDP headed by former Union Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed won two -- Ganderbal and Pulwama -- with the other Ramban seat in Jammu region going to the ruling NC, wresting it from BJP.

In the 87-member assembly, two results have already gone to the Ladakhi Union territory Front when their candidates were declared elected unopposed.

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