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DDC polls: National Conference wins 25 of 140 seats in Jammu, BJP emerges as largest party
People’s Democratic Party, which is also a part of PAGD, could win only one seat in the Jammu region’s Nowshera
Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) has won 25 of the 140 seats in the Jammu region of Jammu & Kashmir in the District Development Council (DDC) elections. The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) swept the polls in the Kashmir Valley. The six-party grouping was led by the NC in the first major direct polling exercise in the region after the scrapping of its special status in August last year.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of another former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, which is also a part of PAGD, could win only one seat in the Jammu region’s Nowshera.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party in Jammu with 71 seats while the Congress won 17, Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party three, Panthers Party two seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party one.
Also Read: Gupkar sweeps Valley, BJP largest in Jammu
The BJP fielded central ministers such as Jitendra Singh and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for campaigning in the eight-phase polls and managed to win three out of 140 seats in Kashmir.
In a tweet, NC leader Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday, “I understand the temptation to over play the 3 seats the BJP has won in the valley but why underplay the 35 wins/leads of the @JKPAGD in Jammu province. We aren’t Kashmir based parties, we are political parties with strong support in both Kashmir AND Jammu.”
BJP’s spokesman Anil Gupta called the results a “victory for democracy” and a “slap” for those who were saying Kashmiri people had lost faith in democracy after scrapping the special status. “The BJP did well all across Jammu & Kashmir...,” he said.
