BJP gets hold of Kathua, Jammu DDCs; Apni Party seizes Srinagar, Shopian, CPIM Kulgam in valley
Jammu Tawi, Feb 6: In the first phase of election held for electing the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen for five District Development Councils – Kathua and Jammu in Jammu region and Srinagar, Shopian and Kulgam in Kashmir valley, the BJP got hold of Kathua and Jammu DDCs and Apni Party won Srinagar and Shopian while Kulgam DDC elected chairman from CPIM with the support of National Conference. The election to elect the chairperson and vice chairperson for DDC Jammu and Kathua in the first phase saw BJP leaders — Bharat Bhushan (chairman) and Suraj Singh (vice chairman) (Jammu) and Col (Retd) Mahan Singh (chairman) and Raghunandan Singh (vice chairman) (Kathua) — getting elected unopposed.
Three districts in the valley — Srinagar, Shopian and Kulgam — also elected their DDC chairpersons and vice chairpersons in the first phase.
While J-K Apni party led by former finance minister Altaf Bukhari has won the elections to the post of chairperson of Srinagar and Shopian, the PAGD which among others include the National Conference and the PDP won Kulgam district.
Malik Aftab from Apni Party won with 10 votes as the chairperson whereas Bilal Ahmad Bhat with 9 votes was elected as the vice chairperson of the DDC Srinagar.
DEO Srinagar said that thirteen (13) out of the total fourteen (14) elected DDC members participated in the meeting. He said the elected member from Harwan-IV constituency could not take part in the meeting due to a health condition.
Kaiser Ahmad Ganai with 3 votes and Manzoor Ahmad Bhat with 4 votes were the runners-up in the chairperson and vice chairperson elections respectively.
The election for District Development Council (DDC) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson (Kulgam) were held today at Kulgam.
All the 14 DDC members participated in the election process and elected Mohammad Afzal Parray as Chairperson (Party affiliation, CPIM) and Shazia Jan (Party affiliation National Conference) as Vice- Chairperson of the District Development Council, Kulgam.
Later the respective returning officers administered the oath of office to the Chairmen and vice chairmen.
The maiden DDC elections to 280 seats — 14 each in 20 districts of the UT — were held in November-December last year with Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) sweeping the polls by winning 110 seats out of the 278 declared results.
Results of two seats in north Kashmir are awaited as the issue of citizenship of two contestants prompted suspension of the counting.
BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 75 seats, mostly in the Jammu region, and enjoys a clear majority in five districts — Kathua and Samba (13 seats each), Jammu and Udhampur (11 each seats) and Doda (eight seats). After an independent candidate extended his support to the party, it also has a majority in Reasi district where it had got seven seats on its own.
“We will live to the expectations of the people and will try our best to speed up the development of our district,” Bhushan, who was elected chairman of the DDC Jammu, told reporters outside the BJP headquarters here after his supporters took out a victory march in the city.
He said his party has expressed faith in him and he will live to the expectations and would make all out efforts to address the issues of the public like strengthening the water supply network and road connectivity.
The PAGD has got a clear majority in six districts and has also got an edge in five other districts as it is just short of one or two seats for the majority.
Independent candidates have won 50 seats and their support will be crucial for parties eyeing for DDC chairmen and vice chairman posts in a number of districts.
