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Onkar Singh in Srinagar
On the eve of the counting of votes, claims and counterclaims by political parties on the formation of the next Jammu and Kashmir government have raised the political stakes to a new high.
Two candidates have already been elected unopposed from the Ladakh region to the 87-member state assembly.
National Conference president Omar Abdullah is confident his party will get a comfortable majority. He said the NC is likely to get a minimum of 50 seats.
Professor Saifuddin Soz, former Union minister and one-time NC stalwart, who is now in the Congress feels his party would get more than 35 seats.
"With heavy polling in Doda we expect to have at least four seats out of a total of six. One of the independent candidates supported by the party in the region is also likely to win. That makes five out of six. National conference will be whipped out of Doda region," he told rediff.com in Srinagar.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, former Union home minister and chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party, too feels confident about the performance of his party.
"We would do reasonably well," he said.
A senior journalist who has been working for many international agencies, however, felt that despite the antipathy towards the National Conference the party would be swept back to power.
Senior government officials feel that if the National Conference lags, it would be because of the inexperience of Omar Abdullah.
"I would say that despite all the odds against it, the National Conference would emerge as the single largest party with 35-37 seats," said an official.
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