Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Srinagar, Nov 16: The upcoming District Development Council elections are expected to be a tight fight as political parties are fielding some bigwigs for the polls.
The first-ever DDC election for 280 seats in J&K will be held in eight phases from 28 November. The counting of votes will be held on 22 December.
The seven parties Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Article 370 restoration and Congress reached a seat sharing understanding for the DDC elections.
BJP too is making all efforts to win maximum seats in the first-ever DDC polls.
BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda has appointed Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur as Incharge and Shahnawaz Hussain, former Union Minister and party spokesperson and Sanjay Bhatia, MP as co-Incharges for District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP has released second list of 46 candidates for third, fourth and fifth phases comprising one former Minister, an ex-legislator, and a JKAS officer, who had taken voluntary retirement from the services.
Sources said union ministers Smriti Irani, Dr Jitendra Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Partap Sarangi, Gen (Retd) VK Singh and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Tarun Chug, will be star campaigners in J&K elections.
Similarly, NC, PDP and Congress are fielding some top leaders in the DDC elections.
“It seems a tight fight between parties of Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration and BJP,” sources said. “All are putting their some top leaders in polls while senior leaders will also participate in campaigning to woo voters,” they said.
For the first phase of DDC elections, a total number of 2644 polling stations will be set up and there are be 7,03,620 electors.
In Kashmir division 183 nominations were received for 25 constituencies of the DDCs and in Jammu division, 169 nominations have been received for 18 segments. (KINS)
