PDP largest party in J and K, BJP to form Govt in Jharkhand
Source: The Sangai Express (With inputs from PTI )

New Delhi, December 23 2014: The results for Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand Assembly polls came out on Tuesday with the PDP emerging as the single-largest party in Jammu & Kashmir and the BJP with its ally the AJSU getting a simple majority in Jharkhand.

Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP got 28 seats in Jammu & Kashmir with the BJP coming second with 25 seats in the State.

With no party getty clear a majority in the northern State, J&K opens up the possibility all kinds of combinations to form the new Government.

Mehbooba said her party is willing to form an alliance with any party that has a common agenda with her party.

For the BJP, despite the party getting a record 25 seats in the 87-seat Assembly in the State, it failed to make any breakthrough in the Kashmir valley.

The BJP got 11 seats in 2008 .

BJP supporters celebrate in left Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand

In Jammu & Kashmir, the ruling National Conference was routed when it secured only 19 seats against 28 it had won in the last elections.

Chief Minister and National Conference president Omar Abdullah lost from Sonawar seat but managed to cling on to Beerwah with a slender margin of 1,000 votes.

Its partner in the Government, the Congress slipped to the fourth position getting 12 seats against 17 it had.

Jammu & Kashmir People Conference headed by former separatist Sajjad Lone won two seats while JKPDF (Secular) and CPM won one seat each.

Independents won in three seats.

As the picture became clear, BJP president Amit Shah said all three options were open for the party.

"The option of forming the Government, the option of supporting a Government and the option of participating in a Government are all open," Shah told reporters in Delhi.

To further questions, he said it is for the media to guess what the BJP would do.

The party's Parliamentary board will meet on Wednesday to discuss the situation.

BJP president Amit Shah said his party kept all its options open in Jammu & Kashmir and wants a popular Government in the State.

In Srinagar, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also kept everyone guessing.

"Our priority will not be to cobble together a Government by hook or crook.

It will take time to explore possibilities and formation of Government to meet the people's expectations and good governance.

It is difficult to say when it will materialize," she told reporters.

Outgoing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also did not reveal his party's plan except to claim that the National Conference cannot be ignored in the current situation.

"The NC will be a serious player in whatever unveils in Jammu & Kashmir in the next few days," he said.

Interestingly, BJP has emerged the largest party in terms of vote share in Jammu & Kashmir securing 23 per cent votes despite the washout in terms of seats in the valley and Ladakh.

The PDP came next with 22.7 per cent, the National Conference got 20.8 per cent while the Congress recorded 18 per cent of votes.

Jammu & Kashmir saw record voter turnout in the 2014 Assembly election.

The BJP's success in Jharkhand comes on top of its victory in Maharashtra and Haryana in the recent Assembly elections after the stupendous victory in Lok Sabha polls.

Jharkhand, a State that was formed 14 years ago, got its first stable Government with the BJP winning in 33 seats while leading in 4 seats in the 81-seat Assembly.

Its ally AJSU has won five seats giving the alliance 42 seats, one more than the required majority of 41 .

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 18 seats and was leading in one more while its partner in Government Congress won four seats and was leading in two.

While BJP numbers doubled up from 18 in 2009 to 37 this election, JMM's numbers improved by one from 18 to 19 despite the loss of Government.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren won from Barhait by a good margin of 24,087 votes but lost in Dumka by 5,262 votes.

JVM(P) headed by former Chief Minister Babu Lal Marandi has won seven seats and was leading in one compared to 11 seats it had won in the last elections.

The BJP also led in the vote share recording 31.4 per cent votes while JMM secured 20.5 per cent.

Congress got 10.3 per cent votes while the JVM(P) got 10 per cent.