The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor’s power to nominate five members to the assembly has sparked a massive row ahead of tomorrow’s counting of votes. The Congress, its ally National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples’ Democratic Party have contended that providing such powers to the Lieutenant Governor is a subversion of the people’s mandate as it will be used to benefit the BJP. Their voice has been strengthened by the exit polls, which while predicting a fractured mandate, has maintained that the Congress-National Conference alliance is far ahead in the race.

The BJP, which went solo in the election, has never ruled Jammu and Kashmir on its own. After the 2014 election, it had formed government with the PDP, and pulled out of the alliance in 2018. The next year, it had scrapped the Constitution’s Article 370 which gave Jammu and Kashmir its special status and divided the state into two Union Territories. This is the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade.

The non-BJP parties now contend that the special power granted to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha gives the BJP a shot at forming government in the erstwhile state. 

Delimitation had levelled the ground to an extent for the BJP, with Jammu region getting 43 seats against Kashmir’s 47. Five more MPs could give the BJP a huge advantage, the parties say. 

After the Delimitation Commission increased the number of seats in the Union Territory, a fresh rule had granted the LG powers to nominate five members – two women, two Kashmiri Pandits and a displaced person from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) – to the Legislative Assembly, thus increasing the total number of seats to 95 and the majority mark to 48 – up from 46.  

These five nominated MLAs “will hold full legislative powers and privileges, just like elected representatives,” the order had said. 
The Congress had vehemently opposed the move, saying “Any such move is an assault on democracy, the people’s mandate, and the fundamental principles of the Constitution”.

The National Conference has said if the nomination happens, it would go to the Supreme Court.

“What they want to do, I do not know. However, if they do it, we will go to the Supreme Court. What is the point in making the government, if the Lord Sahib remains here? We have to fight against all this,” party patriarch Farooq Abdullah has said.

PDP leader Iltija Mufti said giving power to the Lieutenant Governor to nominate five members to the assembly was a “brazen pre-result rigging” of the polls. 

“All of the five MLAs nominated by LG are BJP members or associated with the party. Brazen pre result rigging & shameful manipulation,” she posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Air raid sirens echoed across central Israel including Tel Aviv after surface-to-surface missiles were fired from Yemen on Israel on the first anniversary of deadly attacks in Israel where over 1,200 people were killed. Israel did not mention who fired the missile, but Iran-backed Houthis – A Shia militant group in Yemen – have over the past year attacked Israel several times in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Several events were organised across Israel to remember those who died in the attacks carried out by Hamas. Videos show people hiding for cover as air raid sirens went off. Several journalists lying on the ground when missile warnings were issued.

In another video, people in a mall were running for safety after the aerial missile attack, which Israel said was intercepted by the air force. 

#WATCH | Israel: Visuals from Tel Aviv; siren sound goes off amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/rGoXDntZC8

— ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2024

The Israel Defence Force shared a picture of people seeking shelter from rockets at an event which was organised to remember the victims of the October 7 attacks. 

The IDF also shared a map of locations where sirens went off. Almost every location in central Israel was under threat after the missile attack. 

🚨Sirens sounding all over central Israel as a result of a missile from Yemen🚨 pic.twitter.com/suvOJmzNta

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 7, 2024

On October 7, 2023, Hamas – a militant group which controlled Gaza – crossed over into Israel and launched ‘Operation Al Aqsa Flood’, a deadly terror attack, that killed over 1,200 people across the country. Israel was caught off-guard. Hamas operatives fired over 5,000 rockets, they came through paragliders, broke the Gaza wall and went on a killing spree.

Militants abducted 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still captive in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military has said are dead.

Read more: On First Anniversary Of War With Israel, Fate Of 63 Hostages Held In Gaza Unknown

At least 41,870 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.

The Israeli military said Sunday it deployed more troops to defend southern communities and areas bordering Gaza, ahead of the anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Inside Gaza, the military said three divisions were working to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure and degrade Hamas’s capabilities”.

Results of the 2024 assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir will be announced soon, with counting starting at 8am on October 8. A high-stakes battle is expected in J&K, the first since Article 370’s abrogation. In Haryana, exit polls suggest a Congress comeback, while the BJP aims for a third term. Security is tight at counting centers.