PAGD wins DDC chairperson polls in 2 Valley dists, BJP bags as many in Jammu

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration Wednesday bagged the chairperson posts of the District Development Councils (DDC) in Ganderbal and Pulwama in Kashmir division.

BJP meanwhile, saw its its nominees elected as chairpersons of Reasi and Samba DDCs in Jammu division.

In South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, PDP’s Syed Bari Andrabi was elected chairperson of the council while NC’s Mukhtar Bandh was elected vice-chairman.

At Ganderbal, NC’s Nuzhat Ishfaq was elected chairperson while Bilal Ahmad Sheikh of PDP became vice-chairman.

Both NC and PDP are members of PAGD, an amalgam of six political parties seeking restoration of the special Constitutional status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

We are proud to announce that Jharkhand CM @HemantSorenJMM will be the Chief Guest of the discussion ‘Decoding India’s internal migration’ on February 12 at 2pm.

Register here to join: https://t.co/ngDRKfgS9T pic.twitter.com/7DLIk0HZju

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) February 9, 2021

The winning candidate from one of the 14 constituencies, Waheed Para, who is currently in detention, has not been allowed to take oath.

PAGD has claimed three out of the eight districts that have so far elected chairpersons.

Baramulla and Anantnag districts are yet to elect chairpersons.

Officials said that against BJP’s seven votes in the 14-member Reasi DDC, the saffron party’s Saraf Singh Nag from Bhomag constituency polled nine votes, defeating National Conference’s Jagjeevan Lal (Reasi), a former minister, by two votes. However, it lost the post of vice chairperson to an independent, Sajra Qadir from Gulabgarh, in a draw of lots after she tied with BJP candidate Abdul Rashid (Jij Bagli).

In Samba DDC, BJP’s Keshav Dutt and Balwan Singh were unanimously elected chairperson and vice chairperson, respectively. BJP has 13 members and NC only one in the 14-member DDC.