The Election Commission of India (ECI), a permanent, constitutionally established government body (India n.d.a), publishes the outcomes of legislative elections in India (ibid., n.d.b). Elections for the Punjab Legislative Assembly took place in February 2007 (India 27 Feb. 2007). The ECI reports the following results, listed below in descending order by number of seats:

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), 67 seats;

Indian National Congress (INC), 44 seats;

Independent candidates, 5 seats (ibid.).

Elections for the Pondicherry Legislative Assembly took place in May 2006 (India 11 May 2006a). The ECI's statistical report lists the following number of seats won by each participating party, listed below in descending order:

Indian National Congress (INC), 10 seats;

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), 7 seats;

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), 3 seats;

Pudhucherry Munnetra Congress (PMC), 3 seats;

Independent candidates, 3 seats;

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), 2 seats;

Communist Party of India (CPI), 1 seat;

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), 1 seat (ibid., 5-6).

Elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly also took place in May 2006 (India 11 May 2006b). The ECI's statistical report on the Tamil Nadu elections lists the number of seats won by each participating party, listed below in descending order:

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), 96 seats;

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), 61 seats;

Indian National Congress (INC), 34 seats;

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), 18 seats;

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), 9 seats;

Communist Party of India (CPI), 6 seats;

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), 6 seats.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katch (VCK), 2 seats;

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), 1 seat;

Independent candidates, 1 seat (ibid., 11-12).

Elections for the Haryana Legislative Assembly took place in 2005 (India 2005). The ECI's statistical report on the Haryana elections lists the number of seats won by each participating party, listed below in descending order:

Indian National Congress (INC), 67 seats;

Independent candidates, 10 seats;

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), 9 seats

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 2 seats;

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 1 seat;

National Congress Party (NCP), 1 seat (ibid., 8-9).

Elections for the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly took place in 2004 (India 2004). The ECI's statistical report on the Haryana elections lists the number of seats won by each participating party, listed below in descending order:

Indian National Congress (INC), 185 seats;

Telugu Desam (TDP), 47 seats;

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), 26 seats;

Independent candidates, 11 seats;

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), 9 seats;

Communist Party of India (CPI), 6 seats;

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), 4 seats;

Janata Party (JP), 2 seats

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 2 seats;

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 1 seat;

Samajwadi Party (SP), 1 seat (ibid. 2004, 12-13).

Elections for the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi's Legislative Assembly took place in 2003 (India 2003). The ECI's statistical report on the NCT of Delhi elections lists the number of seats won by each participating party, listed below in descending order:

Indian National Congress (INC), 4 seats;

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 20 seats;

Independent candidates, 1 seat;

Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS)), 1 seat;

National Congress Party (NCP), 1 seat (ibid., 7-9)

Elections for the Goa, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assemblies took place in 2002 (India 2002a; ibid. 2002b; ibid. 2002c). According to the ECI's statistical report, the election results for the Goa Legislative Assembly are as follows:

Indian National Congress (INC), 16 seats;

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 17 seats;

United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP), 3 seats;

Maharshtrawadi Gomantak (MAG), 2 seats;

Independent candidates, 1 seat (ibid. 2000a, 6-7).

Following the election, newspapers reported that no party had captured a clear majority of seats (The Times of India 2 June 2002), and that in response, the BJP, MAG and UGDP parties formed that a coalition government (Press Trust of India 3 June 2002). New elections for Goa's legislative assembly are reportedly scheduled to take place on 2 June 2007 (Hindustan Times 18 Apr. 2007; The Hindu 19 Apr. 2007).

According to the ECI's statistical report, the 2002 election results for the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, in descending order by number of seats, are as follows:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 127 seats;

Indian National Congress (INC), 51 seats;

Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), 2 seats;

Independent candidates, 2 seats (India 2002b, 9-10).

Information on Gujarat's next scheduled legislative assembly elections could not be found by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the ECI's statistical report, the 2002 election results for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, in descending order by number of seats, are as follows:

Jammu And Kashmir National Conference (JKN), 28 seats;

Indian National Congress (INC), 20 seats;

People's Democratic Party (PDP), 16 seats;

Independent candidates, 13 seats;

J& K National Panthers Party (JKNPP), 4 seats;

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), 2 seats;

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 1 seat;

Democratic Movement (DM), 1 seat;

Jammu And Kashmir Awami League (JKAL), 1 seat (ibid., 2002c, 8-9).

In its annual report covering events in 2002, Amnesty International (AI) notes that, following a long history of JKN rule in Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP and the INC parties formed a coalition and took office as the state's governing parties (AI 2003). The Tribune reporting on 10 April 2007, notes that the next legislative assembly elections for Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to take place in September-October 2008, but that they may take place earlier, due to "current political uncertainty."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2003. "India." Amnesty International Report 2003. http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/report2003/ind-summary-eng/$FILE/india.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

The Hindu. 19 April 2007. "Goa Elections on June 2." (Factiva).

The Hindustan Times. 18 April 2007. "Goa Will Go to Polls on June 2." (Factiva).

India. 27 February 2007. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Punjab Assembly Election 2007 Results." http://www.indian-elections.com/assembly-elections/punjab/election-result-07.html [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 11 May 2006a. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Pondicherry Assembly Election 2007 Results." http://www.indian-elections.com/assembly-elections/pondicherry/election-result-06.html [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 11 May 2006b. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2006 Results." http://www.indian-elections.com/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/election-result-06.html [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2006a. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2006 to the Legislative Assembly of Pondicherry." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2006/StatReport_PY_2006.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2006b. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2006 to the Legislative Assembly of Tamilnadu." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2006/StatReport_TN_2006.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2005. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2005 to the Legislative Assembly of Haryana." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2005/StatisticalReports_HR_2005.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2004. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2004 to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2005/StatisticalReports_AP_2004.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2003. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2003 to the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2005/StatisticalReports_DEL_Nov2003.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2002a. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2002 to the Legislative Assembly of Goa." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2005/Stat_rep_se2002_GA.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2002b. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2002 to the Legislative Assembly of Gujarat." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2005/StatReport_GUJ2002.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. 2002c. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Statistical Report on General Election, 2002 to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/SE_2005/StatRep_JK_02.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. N.d.a. Election Commission of India (ECI). "About ECI." http://eci.gov.in/about-eci/the_setup.asp?print=ye&lang=engp [Accessed 2 May 2007]

______. N.d.b. Election Commission of India (ECI). "Election Results - Full Statistical Reports." http://eci.gov.in/StatisticalReports/ElectionStatistics.asp [Accessed 2 May 2007]

Press Trust of India. 3 June 2002. "BJP-led Coalition Govt to be Sworn in Goa on Monday." (Asia Pulse Pte Limited/Factiva).

The Times of India. 2 June 2006. "Hung Assembly in Goa." (Factiva).

The Tribune [Chandigarh, India]. 10 April 2007. "J&K Heading for Early Poll?" http://www.tribunenidia.com/2007/20070411/j&k.htm [Accessed 2 May 2007]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); Dawn; India, Delhi Assembly; India, Chief Electoral Officer Gujarat State; India, Delhi Government; India, Government of Goa Official Web site; India, State Election Commission, Delhi.