BJP leads in Jharkhand, four-way race on in J-K

With the counting of votes of the recently concluded five-phased assembly elections underway on Tuesday, trends till 12 noon indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to form the government in Jharkhand, while Jammu and Kashmir is headed towards a hung assembly, with all the four major parties in the state sharing a slice of the pie.

As per latest reports, the BJP is leading in Jharkhand with 38 seats, a change of 15 since the 2009 state elections. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is the BJP's closest competitor, currently leading in 22 seats. Meanwhile, the former allies Congress and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JCM) have lost ground, currently leading in only seven and five seats respectively.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) is leading the fray with 31 seats, with the BJP close behind on 25 seats. However, the seesawing trends have not ruled out the Congress or the National Conference (NC) from the pictured.

To form the government in Jharkhand, a party or an alliance will require 41 seats, while in Jammu and Kashmir, the golden number is 44.