ULB POLLS: Counting, results today

Srinagar, Oct 19: The fate of around 2,700 candidates would be decided on Saturday for over 700 municipal wards in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Chief Electoral OfficerJ&K, Shaleen Kabra, said that both the counting and the results of the Municipal polls will be declared on Saturday.

Around 2,990 contestants were in fray for the urban local bodies polls across the state. There are a total of 1,145 wards in 79 municipal bodies in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the counting will take place only for around 700 wards, as there were single or no candidates in the remaining wards.

Among them, 2100 candidates contested for 534 wards of Jammu region where 13 candidates were declared winners uncontested.

In Kashmir, among 598 wards spanning across 40 municipal bodies in 10 districts, around 1100 candidates had filed nominations.

However, polling was held only in 186 wards for which around 900 candidates were in the fray, while the remaining 412 wards did not require any voting.

No nominations were received in 181 wards.

Out of these, 62 wards were in phase III, followed by 56 in the phase II, 44 in phase IV, and 19 in the phase I.

At the same time, 231 were those wards, which saw no contest and the solitary candidate in each of these wards was declared winner unopposed.

Among these 69, 61, 52, 49, were declared winners in phase I, II, IV, and III, respectively.

Of the candidates elected uncontested, majority belong to BJP and Congress, while the rest are independents and candidates of Peoples Conference.

Senior Congress leader G N Monga said that his party was sure of winning maximum seats.

“Everything will be clear tomorrow,” Monga said.

The BJP, too, is sure of winning maximum seats.

“Our candidates have already been declared winners on number of seats,” BJP state spokesperson, Altaf Thakur, said.

Two main political parties, the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, had boycotted the polls over Article 35A uncertainity.

National Conference General Secretary, Ali Mohammad Sagar, said that there was anger among the people for “anti-state steps being taken by the Centre”.

“We can’t go against the wishes of people, so stayed away from polls,” Sagar said.

PDP chief spokesperson, Rafi Ahmad Mir said that government did not take main political parties on board for the polls.

“See the voter turnout in these polls,” Mir asked.

The four phase urban local bodies elections were held on October 8, 10, 13 and 16.

The overall poll percentage of all phases across the state has been 35.1 percent.  Jammu recorded a voter turnout of 68.4 percent while in Kashmir it did not cross the two digit number.