In Srinagar, Independents take 53 of 74 seats

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 20

Independent candidates took the lead by winning 53 seats (four were elected unopposed) in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC). The Congress won 16 seats (four were elected unopposed), BJP won four seats and one seat was left vacant as no vote was cast on it.

Winning candidates said whatever little campaigning they had done was held in an environment of fear. But they said it was worth it.

“It was difficult to approach the voters. I had to go to people’s homes at night but I am happy that I will be able to bring some change by addressing small issues that the people in my area face,” said Naziya Yousuf, Congress candidate who won from the Humhama ward in Srinagar. Naziya secured 41 of the 56 votes.

In Srinagar city, 96 per cent people boycotted the elections and the results were based on just 4 per cent votes polled.

“People did not want to vote. They did not want to risk their lives. This election was different. I won with only 13 votes,” said Shaheena, the winning candidate from Srinagar’s Rajbagh Bagh ward.

The counting for Srinagar district began at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar on Saturday amid tight security.

In the 74-ward Srinagar Municipal Corporation, eight wards were uncontested and 66 wards were contested. Among the eight uncontested seats, four were won by Independent candidates and four by Congress candidates.

Most of the candidates in the fray said they wanted to see a change in the summer capital “that has struggled for years for development”.

“A young breed of corporators is set to lead the Srinagar Municipal Corporation,” said a senior official.

In many wards, there was a strong competition among the contestants. In the Lawaypora ward, an Independent candidate defeated senior Congress leader Tariq Karra’s wife by 18 votes. Asifa Karra, who secured 501 votes, lost to Fancy Jan, who won the election with 519 votes.

Former National Conference spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu, who had contested from four wards in Srinagar, was declared victorious in three of them. “We want to see a change in Srinagar and this is the right time,” Mattu told reporters at the SKICC here where he celebrated with his crowd of young supporters.