Azad fails to make maiden bid from JK, Congress routed from Jammu

Azad was defeated by Jitendra Singh by a margin of 60,976 votes in Udhampur LS seat

Ruling National Conference's coalition partner Congress was routed from Jammu region by BJP as Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad failed to make a maiden bid from his home state of Jammu and Kashmir losing to first time candidate of BJP, Jitendra Singh from the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat.

Azad was defeated by famous Diabetologist Singh by a margin of 60,976 votes in Udhampur Lok Sabha seat, where Singh polled 4,87,369 votes while Azad got 4,26,393 votes, official figures said.

Mohd Arshad Malik of PDP polled 30,461 votes and came third while Nation Panthers party's chief Prof Bhim Singh polled just 25,312 votes.

Today's poll results decided the fate of 77 candidates, including Union ministers Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, State BJP chief Jugal Kishore and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Beigh.

There were high stakes for NC-Congress coalition in the Lok Sabha polls ahead of December-end Assembly elections. In last elections, the NC-congress coalition had bagged 5 out of 6 seats.

Azad, who served as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2006 to 2008, was contesting for his J&K's Udhampur home constituency for the first time in his political career. He has contested and won Wassan seat in Maharastra in 1984.

He has contested Assembly elections twice in the state so far in which he first forfeited his security deposit from Inderwal constituency due to crushing defeat and second time he won from his native Bhaderwah constituency as a Chief Minister.

"it was vote by the public for change under the Modi's leadership. We are happy that public supported us. No body can deny that there was no Modi wave in Jammu and Kashmir and results have shown it," Singh told reporters after victory.