SRINAGAR: The recently formed Peoples’ Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an amalgamation of seven regional parties, including CPM and CPI, on Saturday decided unanimously to contest the District Development Council (DDC) polls jointly in Jammu and Kashmir. The polls will be held from November 28.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congressional Committee (JKPCC), also announced on Saturday that it will contest the DDC polls.
J & K’s electoral commission had recently announced the first elections to the DDC and the partial votes of the vacant seats of the panchayat and municipal corporations following the repeal of article 370 last year. Except for national parties such as CPM and CPI, regional parties had declared that they would not join the polls to any institution until the restoration of J & K’s statehood.
The PAGD, formed on October 15, is made up of the National Conference, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, the Peoples’ Conference, the Awami National Conference, the J&K Peoples’ Movement, the CPM and the CPI. The decision was relayed to the media after a meeting in Jammu on Saturday. Alliance spokesperson Sajad Gani Lone, who was accompanied by other PAGD leaders, said that Alliance President Farooq Abdullah declare the names of the candidates. However, North Carolina Senior Leader and former Minister Aga Ruhullah Mehdi opposed PAGD’s decision to join the DDC polls. Aga, an influential Shiite leader in central Kashmir, tweeted: “… they are setting rules and you are playing by it. This is a deep trap that you will just keep falling into. “” The Center wanted these mainstream leaders to join the polls, “Mehdi told TOI.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in Jammu, JKPCC chairman GA Mir said that the congressional decision to challenge the DDC polls was made after consultations with the high command and local party leaders from different districts. Congress is J & K’s oldest party and has never stayed away from the democratic process, Mir said. “We will not give a free run to BJP in DDC surveys. However, we have serious concerns regarding the conduct of the surveys. There are also security concerns. These issues have been presented to the state electoral authorities, “he added.
“The delimitation of DDC electoral districts has been uneven. In some places, constituencies are based on a population of one and a half lakhs, while in others they are a few thousand inhabitants, indicating a delimitationMir said, adding that even the reservation criteria followed are not adequate.
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