# 2008 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election

Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over seven days in November and December 2008. The previous government led by the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) in coalition with the Indian National Congress (INC) collapsed when the PDP withdrew. Following the election, the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) agreed on a coalition with Congress and their leader, Omar Abdullah became the state's youngest-ever Chief Minister at 38.

## Background

Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir state Assembly were due in 2008, following the end of the term of the Assembly elected in 2002. However, the PDP withdrew from the INC-led state government in protest at the Amarnath land transfer decision. The INC government resigned in July 2008 and the state was brought under the direct rule of the central government pending the elections.

## Boycott

The main Kashmiri separatist group, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference called on Kashmiris to boycott the elections, saying the elections were a "futile exercise" that would never "fulfill the aspirations of the people".
Despite these boycott calls, NC leaders claimed that activists from Jamaat-e-Islami had come out and voted for the PDP.
There were scattered separatist protests throughout the elections, including hundreds who protested in Srinagar. Police prevented these protestors from marching to the center of the city which led to protestors throwing stones at the police who fired tear gas and used baton charges.

## Security

Indian election officials voiced major concerns about the security of the elections given the calls for a boycott and protest from separatist leaders and the recent violence over the Amarnath land transfer controversy. Voting was staggered so that security forces could maintain control. Thousands of security forces were deployed during the voting. In Srinagar, security forces were posted at junctions, patrolled the streets, and guarded polling stations. An unofficial curfew was enforced, gatherings of more than five people banned and neighborhoods were sealed off with steel barricades and razor wire.
Police also arrested three men they accused of being Jaish-e-Mohammed members planning suicide attacks in Jammu. One of those arrested was a soldier in the Army of Pakistan, who Pakistan said had deserted in 2006. However following the polls the NC leader, Farooq Abdullah, thanked the Pakistan government for their "non-interference" with the polls.

## Results

The seven stages of the elections were held as follows:
| | Date | Seats | Turnout |
| | Monday 17 November | 10 | 69.02% |
| | Sunday 23 November | 6 | 68.29% |
| | Sunday 30 November | 5 | 68.22% |
| | Sunday 7 December | 18 | 59.24% |
| | Saturday 13 December | 11 | 58.5% |
| | Wednesday 17 December | 16 | 65.93% |
| | Wednesday 24 December | 21 | 52.0% |
| | Total | 87 | 60.5% |
| Source: ||||
Turnout rose by 17%, despite calls from Kashmiri separatists and Pakistan for Kashmiris to boycott the election. INC head Sonia Gandhi described the polls as "a triumph of Indian democracy".
Separatist supporters were said to have backed the PDP. The BJP's increase in support was said to be due to polarisation arising from the Amarnath land transfer controversy, which led it to increase its seat tally from 1 to 11 seats.
1,354 candidates stood for election including 517 independents and nominees from 43 political parties.

### Summary

Summary of the November - December 2008 Jammu and Kashmir state assembly election results :
| Party | Flag | Seats | +/– |
| National Conference | | 28 | 0 |
| People's Democratic Party | | 21 | 5 |
| Indian National Congress | | 17 | 3 |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | | 11 | 10 |
| Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party | | 3 | 1 |
| Communist Party of India (Marxist) | | 1 | 1 |
| People's Democratic Front | | 1 | |
| Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist | | 1 | |
| Independents | | 4 | |
| Total (turnout 60.5%) | Total (turnout 60.5%) | 87 | |
| Source: Electoral Commission of India ||||||||||

## Elected Members
### Results by constituency

Winner, runner-up, voter turnout, and victory margin in every constituency :
| Assembly Constituency | Assembly Constituency | Turnout | Winner | Winner | Winner | Winner | Winner | Runner Up | Runner Up | Runner Up | Runner Up | Runner Up | Margin |
| #k | Names | % | Candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % | Candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % | Margin |
| 1 | Karnah | 79.65% | Kifil-Ur-Rehman Khan | | JKNC | 4,110 | 19.15% | Abdul Rehman Bhadana | | JKANC | 2,962 | 13.8% | 1,148 |
| 2 | Kupwara | 62.43% | Saifullah Mir | | JKNC | 16,696 | 30.07% | Fayaz Ahmad Mir | | JKPDP | 11,514 | 20.74% | 5,182 |
| 3 | Lolab | 68.15% | Abdul Haq Khan | | JKPDP | 23,337 | 40.67% | Qaysar Jamshaid Lone | | JKNC | 17,990 | 31.35% | 5,347 |
| 4 | Handwara | 75.58% | Chowdary Mohammed Ramzan | | JKNC | 27,907 | 48.38% | Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Sofi | | Independent | 16,317 | 28.29% | 11,590 |
| 5 | Langate | 61.33% | Sheikh Abdul Rashid | | Independent | 7,964 | 21.86% | Mohammed Sultan Pandithpori | | JKPDP | 7,754 | 21.29% | 210 |
| 6 | Uri | 81.73% | Taj Mohiuddin | | INC | 24,036 | 44.54% | Mohammad Shafi | | JKNC | 22,157 | 41.06% | 1,879 |
| 7 | Rafiabad | 51.86% | Javid Ahmad Dar | | JKNC | 13,198 | 35.89% | Mohammad Dilawar Mir | | JKPDP | 12,982 | 35.3% | 216 |
| 8 | Sopore | 19.96% | Mohammed Ashraf Ganie | | JKNC | 4,368 | 24.24% | Abdul Rashid Dar | | INC | 3,304 | 18.34% | 1,064 |
| 9 | Gurez | 74.02% | Nazir Ahmad Khan | | JKNC | 5,817 | 51.06% | Faqeer Ahmad Khan | | INC | 5,085 | 44.64% | 732 |
| 10 | Bandipora | 57.08% | Nizam Uddin Bhat | | JKPDP | 13,051 | 26.1% | Usman Abdul Majid | | Independent | 12,231 | 24.46% | 820 |
| 11 | Sonawari | 59.95% | Mohammad Akbar Lone | | JKNC | 20,108 | 39.74% | Abid Hussain Ansari | | Independent | 7,951 | 15.71% | 12,157 |
| 12 | Sangrama | 46.61% | Syed Basharat Ahmad | | JKPDP | 7,812 | 28.09% | Shoaib Nabi Lone | | Independent | 6,482 | 23.31% | 1,330 |
| 13 | Baramulla | 33.31% | Muzaffar Hussain Baig | | JKPDP | 13,019 | 53.46% | Nazir Hussain Khan | | JKNC | 7,621 | 31.29% | 5,398 |
| 14 | Gulmarg | 59.8% | Ghulam Hassan Mir | | Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist | 18,253 | 36.81% | Sheikh Mustafa Kamal | | JKNC | 11,812 | 23.82% | 6,441 |
| 15 | Pattan | 50.84% | Iftikhar Hussain Ansari | | JKPDP | 20,703 | 51.14% | Abdul Rashid Shaheen | | JKNC | 9,432 | 23.3% | 11,271 |
| 16 | Kangan | 59.53% | Mian Altaf Ahmed Larvi | | JKNC | 19,210 | 54.98% | Mian Bashir Ahmed | | JKPDP | 11,495 | 32.9% | 7,715 |
| 17 | Ganderbal | 51.73% | Omar Abdullah | | JKNC | 16,519 | 41.49% | Qazi Mohammad Afzal | | JKPDP | 8,304 | 20.85% | 8,215 |
| 18 | Hazratbal | 28.91% | Farooq Abdullah | | JKNC | 11,041 | 44.66% | Asiea | | JKPDP | 6,769 | 27.38% | 4,272 |
| 19 | Zadibal | 17.3% | Peer Aafaq Ahmed | | JKNC | 4,335 | 34.89% | Shahi Jahan Dar | | JKPDP | 3,094 | 24.9% | 1,241 |
| 20 | Eidgah | 22.07% | Mubarak Ahmed Gul | | JKNC | 4,457 | 35.97% | Asifa Tariq Qara | | JKPDP | 2,778 | 22.42% | 1,679 |
| 21 | Khanyar | 17.41% | Ali Mohammad Sagar | | JKNC | 6,314 | 74.16% | Showkat Ahmad Hafiz | | JKPDP | 806 | 9.47% | 5,508 |
| 22 | Habba Kadal | 11.62% | Shamim Firdous | | JKNC | 2,374 | 41.14% | Hira Lal Chatta | | BJP | 672 | 11.65% | 1,702 |
| 23 | Amira Kadal | 14.96% | Nasir Aslam Wani | | JKNC | 3,912 | 34.75% | Parvaiz Ahmed Bhat | | JKPDP | 3,103 | 27.56% | 809 |
| 24 | Sonawar | 36.66% | Farooq Abdullah | | JKNC | 7,018 | 28.23% | Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Pardesi | | JKPDP | 6,924 | 27.86% | 94 |
| 25 | Batmaloo | 19.96% | Mohammed Irfan Shah | | JKNC | 9,447 | 44.83% | Tariq Hameed Karra | | JKPDP | 6,738 | 31.97% | 2,709 |
| 26 | Chadoora | 53.79% | Javaid Mustafa Mir | | JKPDP | 16,278 | 41.36% | Ali Mohammad Dar | | JKNC | 13,338 | 33.89% | 2,940 |
| 27 | Budgam | 55.17% | Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi | | JKNC | 19,652 | 40.15% | Mohammed Kamal Malik | | JKPDP | 9,692 | 19.8% | 9,960 |
| 28 | Beerwah | 57.18% | Shafi Ahmad Wani | | JKPDP | 11,720 | 24.42% | Abdul Majid Matoo | | JKNC | 11,556 | 24.08% | 164 |
| 29 | Khan Sahib | 74.73% | Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen Shah | | People's Democratic Front (Jammu and Kashmir) | 22,616 | 41.94% | Saif Ud Din Bhat | | JKPDP | 14,221 | 26.37% | 8,395 |
| 30 | Charari Sharief | 74.58% | Abdul Rahim Rather | | JKNC | 24,579 | 48.3% | Ghulam Nabi Lone | | JKPDP | 18,204 | 35.78% | 6,375 |
| 31 | Tral | 48.69% | Mushtaq Ahmad Shah | | JKPDP | 10,393 | 28.47% | Mohammed Ashraf Bhat | | JKNC | 6,586 | 18.04% | 3,807 |
| 32 | Pampore | 43.43% | Zahoor Ahmad Mir | | JKPDP | 11,117 | 36.84% | Mohammed Anwar Bhat | | INC | 5,969 | 19.78% | 5,148 |
| 33 | Pulwama | 40.84% | Mohammed Khalil Band | | JKPDP | 10,639 | 36.45% | Sonaullah Dar | | Independent | 4,003 | 13.71% | 6,636 |
| 34 | Rajpora | 50.61% | Syed Bashir Ahmad Shah | | JKPDP | 10,177 | 25.12% | Ghulam Mohi Uddin Mir | | Independent | 9,230 | 22.79% | 947 |
| 35 | Wachi | 48.55% | Mehbooba Mufti | | JKPDP | 12,810 | 37.96% | Showkat Hussain Ganie | | JKNC | 4,474 | 13.26% | 8,336 |
| 36 | Shopian | 52.72% | Abdul Razaq Wagay | | JKPDP | 8,006 | 21.23% | Mohammed Shafi | | INC | 5,208 | 13.81% | 2,798 |
| 37 | Noorabad | 74.1% | Sakeena Akhtar | | JKNC | 16,240 | 35.23% | Abdul Aziz Zargar | | JKPDP | 11,722 | 25.43% | 4,518 |
| 38 | Kulgam | 61.61% | Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami | | CPI(M) | 17,175 | 34.24% | Nazir Ahmad Laway | | JKPDP | 16,939 | 33.77% | 236 |
| 39 | Hom Shali Bugh | 54.36% | Abdul Gafar Sofi | | JKPDP | 12,249 | 33.74% | Abdul Majeed | | JKNC | 7,439 | 20.49% | 4,810 |
| 40 | Anantnag | 41.22% | Mufti Mohammad Sayeed | | JKPDP | 12,439 | 39.49% | Mirza Mehboob Beigh | | JKNC | 7,548 | 23.96% | 4,891 |
| 41 | Devsar | 68.36% | Mohammed Sartaj Madni | | JKPDP | 14,175 | 26.79% | Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad | | JKNC | 10,174 | 19.23% | 4,001 |
| 42 | Dooru | 69.83% | Ghulam Ahmad Mir | | INC | 15,870 | 36.19% | Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabi | | JKPDP | 9,952 | 22.69% | 5,918 |
| 43 | Kokernag | 70.35% | Peerzada Mohammad Syed | | INC | 13,384 | 26.75% | Ghulam Nabi Bhat | | JKNC | 12,114 | 24.21% | 1,270 |
| 44 | Shangus–Anantnag East | 69.29% | Peerzada Mansoor Hussain | | JKPDP | 13,853 | 27.99% | Gulzar Ahmad Wani | | INC | 12,423 | 25.1% | 1,430 |
| 45 | Srigufwara–Bijbehara | 60.75% | Abdul Rehman Bhat | | JKPDP | 23,320 | 49.88% | Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri | | JKNC | 13,046 | 27.9% | 10,274 |
| 46 | Pahalgam | 70.25% | Rafi Ahmad Mir | | JKPDP | 24,316 | 49.29% | Altaf Ahmad Wani | | JKNC | 13,394 | 27.15% | 10,922 |
| 47 | Nubra | 71.26% | Tsetan Namgyal | | Independent | 4,608 | 53.48% | Tsewang Rigzin | | INC | 3,678 | 42.68% | 930 |
| 48 | Leh | 61.05% | Nawang Rigzin | | INC | 19,008 | 50.5% | Thupstan Chhewang | | Independent | 17,485 | 46.45% | 1,523 |
| 49 | Kargil | 75.05% | Qamar Ali Akhoon | | JKNC | 22,935 | 53.64% | Haji Nissar Ali | | Independent | 17,635 | 41.24% | 5,300 |
| 50 | Zanskar | 72.2% | Feroz Ahmed Khan | | JKNC | 6,552 | 44.72% | Ghulam Raza | | INC | 5,634 | 38.45% | 918 |
| 51 | Kishtwar | 74.46% | Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo | | JKNC | 19,248 | 37.48% | Sunil Kumar Sharma | | BJP | 16,783 | 32.68% | 2,465 |
| 52 | Inderwal | 72.81% | Ghulam Mohammad Saroori | | INC | 22,684 | 42.67% | Shakti Raj | | BJP | 12,269 | 23.08% | 10,415 |
| 53 | Doda | 73.05% | Abdul Majid Wani | | INC | 23,254 | 44.55% | Khalid Najib Suharwardy | | JKNC | 16,102 | 30.85% | 7,152 |
| 54 | Bhaderwah | 65.29% | Ghulam Nabi Azad | | INC | 38,238 | 62.86% | Daya Krishan | | BJP | 8,802 | 14.47% | 29,436 |
| 55 | Ramban | 65.59% | Ashok Kumar | | INC | 21,779 | 43.47% | Bali Bhagat | | BJP | 11,460 | 22.88% | 10,319 |
| 56 | Banihal | 67.94% | Vikar Rasool Wani | | INC | 8,287 | 17.38% | Showket Javeed Daing | | Independent | 5,254 | 11.02% | 3,033 |
| 57 | Gulabgarh | 77.66% | Abdul Ghani Malik | | JKNC | 14,268 | 31.28% | Haji Mumtaz Ahmad Khan | | Independent | 11,020 | 24.16% | 3,248 |
| 58 | Reasi | 73.61% | Baldev Raj | | BJP | 26,031 | 37.01% | Jugal Kishore | | INC | 19,369 | 27.54% | 6,662 |
| 59 | Gool Arnas | 76.7% | Ajaz Ahmed Khan | | INC | 15,594 | 37.05% | Ghulam Qadir Mughal | | JKNC | 12,142 | 28.85% | 3,452 |
| 60 | Udhampur | 68.64% | Balwant Singh Mankotia | | JKNPP | 25,259 | 35.49% | Pawan Kumar Gupta | | BJP | 22,494 | 31.61% | 2,765 |
| 61 | Chenani | 57.37% | Krishan Chander | | INC | 16,276 | 35.47% | Dina Nath Bhagat | | BJP | 9,838 | 21.44% | 6,438 |
| 62 | Ramnagar | 64.54% | Harsh Dev Singh | | JKNPP | 30,609 | 47.18% | Vinod Khajuria | | BSP | 18,463 | 28.46% | 12,146 |
| 63 | Bani | 76.09% | Lal Chand | | BJP | 11,041 | 39.57% | Ghulam Haider Malik | | JKNC | 8,792 | 31.51% | 2,249 |
| 64 | Basohli | 69.8% | Jagdish Raj Sapolia | | BJP | 16,651 | 35.25% | Davinder Singh | | JKNC | 13,770 | 29.15% | 2,881 |
| 65 | Kathua | 72.98% | Charanjit Singh | | Independent | 19,123 | 25.82% | Som Raj Majotra | | BSP | 16,761 | 22.63% | 2,362 |
| 66 | Billawar | 70.9% | Manohar Lal Sharma | | INC | 22,262 | 35.78% | Satish Kumar Sharma | | BJP | 13,879 | 22.31% | 8,383 |
| 67 | Hiranagar | 66.03% | Durga Dass | | BJP | 19,730 | 30.5% | Prem Lal | | Independent | 16,993 | 26.27% | 2,737 |
| 68 | Samba | 72.52% | Yash Paul Kundal | | JKNPP | 14,631 | 27.15% | Satwant Kour | | BJP | 12,642 | 23.45% | 1,989 |
| 69 | Vijaypur | 80.27% | Surjeet Singh Slathia | | JKNC | 21,090 | 27.21% | Chader Prakash Sharma | | BJP | 19,878 | 25.64% | 1,212 |
| 70 | Nagrota | 79.33% | Jugal Kishore Sharma | | BJP | 11,141 | 22.76% | M. K. Ajat Shatru | | JKNC | 9,521 | 19.45% | 1,620 |
| 71 | Gandhinagar | 64.15% | Raman Bhalla | | INC | 33,486 | 36.34% | Nirmal Singh | | BJP | 31,223 | 33.89% | 2,263 |
| 72 | Jammu East | 60.71% | Ashok Kumar Khajuria | | BJP | 15,907 | 50.72% | Narender Singh | | INC | 5,474 | 17.45% | 10,433 |
| 73 | Jammu West | 60.85% | Chaman Lal Gupta | | BJP | 34,288 | 40.26% | Surinder Singh Shangari | | Independent | 21,251 | 24.95% | 13,037 |
| 74 | Bishnah | 75.77% | Ashwani Kumar Sharma | | Independent | 14,078 | 22.46% | Kamal Verma | | BSP | 13,589 | 21.68% | 489 |
| 75 | Ranbir Singh Pora–Jammu South | 76.56% | Gharu Ram Bhagat | | BJP | 15,902 | 28.95% | Suman Lata Bhagat | | INC | 14,272 | 25.98% | 1,630 |
| 76 | Suchetgarh | 79.8% | Sham Lal Choudhary | | BJP | 17,995 | 39.39% | Taranjeet Singh | | JKNC | 10,403 | 22.77% | 7,592 |
| 77 | Marh | 81.97% | Sukh Nandan Kumar | | BJP | 18,368 | 35.04% | Ajay Sadhotra | | JKNC | 11,787 | 22.49% | 6,581 |
| 78 | Raipur Domana | 70.55% | Bharat Bhushan | | BJP | 28,685 | 47.78% | Mulla Ram | | INC | 16,416 | 27.34% | 12,269 |
| 79 | Akhnoor | 79.68% | Sham Lal Sharma | | INC | 31,600 | 47.97% | Govind Ram Sharma | | BJP | 17,716 | 26.89% | 13,884 |
| 80 | Chhamb | 78.35% | Tara Chand | | INC | 25,335 | 48.59% | Chaman Lal | | BJP | 22,940 | 44.% | 2,395 |
| 81 | Nowshera | 73.07% | Radhay Sham Sharma | | JKNC | 16,511 | 26.47% | Romesh Chander Sharma | | INC | 12,691 | 20.35% | 3,820 |
| 82 | Darhal | 77.37% | Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali | | JKPDP | 19,399 | 28.55% | Mohammed Iqbal Malik | | Independent | 14,858 | 21.87% | 4,541 |
| 83 | Rajouri | 70.12% | Shabir Ahmed Khan | | INC | 10,013 | 13.63% | Tasadiq Hussain | | JKPDP | 9,680 | 13.18% | 333 |
| 84 | Kalakote | 73.32% | Rachhpal Singh | | JKNC | 25,314 | 45.62% | Ashok Kumar Sharma | | Independent | 13,894 | 25.04% | 11,420 |
| 85 | Surankote | 74.92% | Aslam Chowdhary Mohammad | | INC | 28,102 | 44.22% | Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari | | JKNC | 26,051 | 40.99% | 2,051 |
| 86 | Mendhar | 77.85% | Sardar Rafiq Hussain Khan | | JKPDP | 29,036 | 47.63% | Javed Ahmed Rana | | JKNC | 28,294 | 46.42% | 742 |
| 87 | Poonch Haveli | 74.37% | Ajaz Ahmed Jan | | JKNC | 28,297 | 39.62% | Chaudhary Bashir Ahmed Naaz | | INC | 18,364 | 25.71% | 9,933 |

## Government formation

Former National Conference Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, said he did not want to return as it "required the energy of a younger man", and nominated his son, Omar Abdullah, and the head of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference instead.
Congress debated forming a coalition with either Conference or the PDP. It was reported that the PDP had offered to support a Congress candidate for Chief Minister if they joined with them. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi were reported to favor the largest party to "honor the mandate" of the election.
On 30 December Congress and the National Conference agreed to form a coalition government, with Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister.