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The Jammu and Kashmir Election commission on Wednesday, 23 December, declared the results for the District Development Council (DDC) elections in the Union territory, registering the dominance of the BJP with victory in 75 seats.
The final tally of all the parties, as declared by Commissioner KK Sharma is as following:
The Gupkar alliance, of which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is also a part, was the clear winner in the Valley, while the BJP maintained its dominance in the Jammu region as expected.
NC leader Omar Abdullah told ANI, “This election has proved that no matter what you do against the National Conference, you can't put an end to its existence. Only Almighty or public has that power. Spread lies and propaganda but truth will come out someday.
He stated that ‘with this defeat’, he did not think that the BJP government would conduct Assembly elections in J&K anytime soon.
Addressing his party’s performance in Jammu, the former J&K Chief Minister said, “We must also accept that there are some weaknesses in our organisation in some areas. We were expecting to win the election at some seats but could not.”
PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti stated that the victory was a hard earned one.
Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram stated that the results showed: “Even in the Jammu region, a significant number of voters have rejected the divisive and polarising politics of the BJP. Both the Congress and the Gupkar Alliance have stood up to the BJP and may win as many seats as the BJP.”
BJP in-charge for the J&K DDC polls, Anurag Thakur, hit out at the Gupkar alliance stating, “The combined vote share of the Independent candidates and the BJP amounts to a little over 52 percent. This is a clear indication that the Gupkar Gang has lost its credibility and the trust of the people,” reported ANI.
Reminding that the BJP won three seats in the Valley, Thakur added, “The trust which the J&K people have put in Modiji, the support which they've shown to his policies, and to his work to strengthen the democratic principles, are the reasons why BJP has got 3 seats in the Kashmir Valley.”
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the DDC polls could be surmised as a ‘victory of democracy’.
BJP leader Ram Madhav told ANI that the poll result is a victory of the policies of the Centre.
Out of the 14 DDC seats in Srinagar, Independents have won seven seats, Apni Party has emerged victorious in three seats, and one seat each has been won by BJP, PDP, National Conference, and Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement, Srinagar District Election Officer Shahid Choudhary said.
National Conference candidate Kaiser Mir and Independent Shabir Aad Reshi have reportedly won from Khimber and Hawan constituencies in Srinagar, respectively, reported news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, Azaz Hussain, the BJP candidate from Balhama, Srinagar, has also won from his seat.
Jammu Deputy Commissioner Sushma Chauhan had said that restrictive and prohibitory measures have been put in place, with no victory processions by political parties and independent candidates to be allowed without permission.
With 2,178 candidates in the fray, the overall voting percentage in all the eight phases across the Union Territory was 51.42 percent.
The first phase of voting took place on 28 November and ended with phase eight on 19 December. This is the first electoral exercise in the region after J&K’s special status under Article 370 was withdrawn in August 2019 and the state was divided into two Union Territories.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI, IANS and NDTV.)
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Published: 23 Dec 2020,11:53 AM IST