Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases from September 18 while Haryana will go to polls in a single phase on October 1, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
Omar Abdullah lost by 204,142 votes; Mehbooba Mufti by 281, 794 votes.
Two constituents of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in Jammu and Kashmir have announced they are severing all ties with separatist groups. Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the decision, asserting it will strengthen India's unity. The Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) and the J&K Democratic Political Movement (JKDPM) have both distanced themselves from the separatist ideology, vowing allegiance to India and the Constitution. The JKPM, led by Shahid Saleem, and the JKDPM, led by Shafi Reshi, issued statements detailing their decision. Shah said the move is a big victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed, peaceful, and unified India. The APHC, which has been banned by the government, has been unable to address the legitimate aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Saleem said.
The alleged torture of five civilians by Army personnel in Kishtwar has triggered angry reactions from various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, notably from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who has demanded a transparent investigation and court martial for those found guilty.
Briefing reporters after the nearly two-hour meeting, Abdullah said the leaders decided to formalise the alliance, that has been named 'Peoples' Alliance for Gupkar Declaration'.
Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said that there should not be any politics on the Supreme Court ruling and everyone should respect it.
'We had to respect the sentiments of the people of Jammu as our party was elected from Jammu.'
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
She said the encounter in Jammu's Sidhra area in the morning, where four terrorists were killed, belied the government claims of uprooting terrorism in J and K.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti drew comparisons between the treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh and minorities in India, sparking criticism from the BJP. Mufti expressed concerns about the alleged oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and criticized recent surveys of mosques in India. She called for a united front against forces dividing people on religious lines and warned of a potential repeat of 1947-like riots.
The Narendra Modi government is understood to have ruled out changes in the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir and favoured its continuation in the present form in the state.
Even as the ruling National Conference felt the time was not "appropriate" for holding polls in Jammu and Kashmir because of September's devastating floods, its coalition partner Congress and opposition parties in the state welcomed the Election Commission's announcement of conducting assembly elections on time.
Omar Abdullah also urged upon the governor to take some confidence building measures and also ensure that there was zero-tolerance towards the human rights violations.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
The People's Democratic Party and the National Conference -- the two Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners in Jammu and Kashmir -- will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
The Congress will make it the main issue when its Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi reaches Jammu and Kashmir early next year.
Any decision to include "non-locals" in electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir is unacceptable and would be contested by all means, including in court, Nation Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Monday after a meeting of nine parties over the issue.
Jammu and Kashmir was placed under governor's rule on Saturday night with the process of new government formation following the death of CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed taking some time.
They said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle at Botapathri near Nagin post.
In Hindu mythology, the 'Raghu clan', to which Lord Ram belonged, believed in the principle that you must never break your promise even if you have to lose your life keeping it.
Four persons, including a Pakistani terrorist and his accomplice, were killed in a gunfight in Hyderpora locality of Srinagar late Monday evening. The dead also included the house owner and a doctor, whom police dubbed as 'terror associates'.
Ahead of counting of votes, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said his party was open to the idea of taking support of Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party to form government in the Union territory.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the decision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory is 'temporary' and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will restore the statehood to the region.
Bukhari said party president Mehbooba Mufti was scheduled to address various workers' conventions as part of her ongoing public outreach programme over the next few days.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
In a series of tweets, Shah also questioned Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi whether they support the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomerate of regional and national political parties in Jammu and Kashmir formed to demand the restoration of the Article 370, scrapped last year.
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag -Rajouri constituency, his party Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) said.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's power to nominate five members to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was at the centre of a political and legal debate on the eve of vote count, with the Congress and regional parties the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party on Monday opposing any such move during government formation.
'The Congress backstabbed us and the BJP frontstabbed us.' 'This is the only difference between the two parties.'
Campaigning for the first phase of the five-phased assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is in full swing as the top leaders of various political parties are criss-crossing 15 constituencies which will go to polls later this month.
19 wards of Srinagar Municipal Corporation, having an electorate of 1.78 lakh, witnessed a turnout of just 2.3 per cent, officials said.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his hunger strike as protests for Ladakh statehood and Sixth Schedule extension turned violent. The BJP office was set on fire, vehicles were torched, and clashes erupted, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders.
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
The bodies of two village defence guards (VDG) killed by terrorists were found near a rivulet on Friday during a massive search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said.
A civilian was killed on Wednesday in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir in alleged accidental firing by a policeman who has been arrested, officials said.
The People's Democratic Party, the main Opposition party in J&K, on Tuesday welcomed the fresh initiative unveiled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to address unrest in Kashmir hoping it will be a "critical step" forward to usher in lasting peace in the valley.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
"We intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the departure of delegation comprising 30 members from 20 parties.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
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