No clear winner is likely to emerge from state elections in Indian-ruled Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday, and a period of uncertainty is expected before a coalition is cobbled together. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the higher than expected turnout in elections in disputed Kashmir a “vote for democracy” Sunday. “The large turnout is a vote for democracy. It is a vote for national integration. Therefore, we are all happy,” Singh told reporters in New Delhi. “It does not matter who wins, what matters is that the people of the valley... have expressed their faith in the democratic system,” said ruling Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi. “It is a lesson to be learnt by our neighbors,” Gandhi said – a reference to Pakistan. The regional National Conference (NC), mainly Muslim Kashmir's largest pro-India party, won 28 of the assembly's 87 seats, the Indian Election Commission said in a statement. Reformist Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured 21 seats and the Congress managed victory in 17 seats. The rivals NC and PDP are unlikely to team up and form a coalition, so Congress is likely to play a key role in the formation of the new government. India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won nine and was leading in two others in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region. “We are open to an alliance with Congress,” National Conference president Omar Abdullah told reporters. Despite a boycott call by separatists and Muslim militants, more than 60 percent of Kashmiri voters participated in the elections, taken as an encouraging sign in New Delhi. The voting also passed relatively peacefully compared with previous polls. Jammu and Kashmir state came under New Delhi's direct rule in July after a People's Democratic Party-led coalition government fell over a land dispute. The controversy became the trigger for some of Kashmir's biggest anti-India protests since a revolt against New Delhi's rule began in 1989. Separatists in Kashmir, claimed by India and Pakistan but ruled in part by both, say New Delhi portrays voting as an endorsement of its rule over the Himalayan region. Overall violence has fallen significantly across Kashmir since India and Pakistan began peace talks in 2004, although New Delhi has imposed a pause in that dialogue since last month's Mumbai attacks blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Officials say more than 47,000 people have been killed in nearly two decades of violence involving Indian troops and militants in Kashmir. Separatists put the toll at 100,000.
