However, it is the independent – 40 of whom have already won – who will make the decisions in many places, particularly in the valley, as most have eluded any major players in those districts. Another 30 independents led the count, according to reports.
The DDC polls were the first electoral exercise since the invalidity of article 370 on August 5 of last year. The vote was carried out in 280 seats, 14 in each of the 20 districts of the union territory.
While PAGD advanced in the Kashmir region, BJP maintained its lead in the Jammu region. Results for 221 of the 280 seats were available at press time, with PAGD winning at 95 seats and BJP at 56.
In the PAGD led by Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister ‘s National Conference it was the biggest winner with 53 seats, followed by former archrival Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP, which won 27 seats. While the Sajjad Lone People’s Conference won seven seats, two other PAGD members, the CPM and the People’s Movement of Jammu and Kashmir, won five and three seats, respectively. CPI and the Awami National Conference, the other two partners in the seven-party alliance, were left blank.
Congress, which had initially participated in deliberations with the PAGD but distanced itself after criticism, won 18 seats, while Altaf Bujari’s nine-month-old Apni Party, considered close to the BJP, won 10 seats.
Of the 56 seats that BJP won, 53 came from Jammu, while three came from the valley.
North Carolina leader Omar Abdullah downplayed the BJP victory in three seats in the valley, tweeting: “I understand the temptation to exaggerate the 3 seats that the BJP has won in the valley, but why downplay the 35 wins / leaders of the @ JKPAGD in Jammu province. We are not parties based in Kashmir, we are political parties with strong support in both Kashmir and Jammu. ”
According to the results published by the J&K administration, NC won 37 seats in the valley and 16 in the Jammu region.
While PAGD had a decisive advantage in the valley, it took a hit in Srinagar, where only five of its candidates were able to win, with the independents emerging victorious in seven seats and the BJP and the Apni Party each winning one seat. Although the Apni Party won only one seat in Srinagar, the electoral arithmetic seems to be in its favor when it comes to taking control of the DDC, as most of the victorious independents are backed by Bukhari. Interestingly, after winning the recent mayoral elections, the mayor of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation had joined the Apni Party shortly after taking office.
Similarly, in Kupwara, the Apni Party has won two seats so far. But sources said six Bukhari-backed independents won, giving his party the much-needed advantage to form the DDC.
The Apni Party or the independents backed by it have also won some seats in Baramulla, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Shopian and Anantnag.
“It’s very probable that the Apni Party he can form the councils at the district level in these districts, particularly in Ganderbal, where he has endorsed seven independent candidates who have been declared winners so far, ”commented a political observer.
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