Civic election: Counting today, wait over for 2,754 contestants

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 19

Amid unprecedented security, the counting of votes today for the four-phase civic body elections to 79 municipalities across J&K will decide the fate of 2,754 candidates.

Although there are 1,145 wards in all 79 municipalities, elections were held only for 720 wards due to the unopposed election of a large number of candidates, especially in the Valley.

In the month-long election process, 3,372 candidates had filed their papers but 2,754 candidates were finally in the fray across the state. Now, all eyes are on the prestigious Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) which will elect 149 corporators.

As per official data, 244 candidates were elected unopposed in J&K while there were no candidates for 181 wards in the Valley due to militant threats and the boycott call. Of 598 wards in Kashmir, 231 candidates were elected unopposed. In comparison, only 13 candidates were elected uncontested in the Jammu region.

As the PDPand NChad boycotted the elections, the BJP and Congress had fielded candidates in all three regions.

Out of nearly 17 lakh voters, 5.97 lakh electorate (35.1 per cent) voted during the four-phase elections. The CPM and BSP had also boycotted the elections. While the CPM toed the PDP and NC line by linking elections toArticle 35A , the BSP had cited the deteriorating security in the Valley.

“It is too early to say anything about the outcome of the elections because some mainstream parties have boycotted the elections,” said Ghulam Hassan Mir, senior politician of the state.

Democratic Party Nationalist chief Mir, who was instrumental in conducting the civic bodies elections in J&K in 2005 after a gap of 26 years, said the strengthening of such institutions was a must to empower people at the grass-roots level.

Meanwhile, in a handout issued onFriday evening, Chief Electoral OfficerShaleen Kabrasaid the counting of votes would be held on October 20 and the results would also be declared the same day.