BJP sweeps local body elections in four districts of South Kashmir

Jammu And Kashmir Municipal polls: BJP Saturday failed to open its account in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region in the urban local body elections held earlier this month.

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Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The BJP clinched the urban local body elections in four districts of south Kashmir on Saturday, winning 53 of the 132 wards, where polls were held over four phases earlier this month, reports said. South Kashmir has been predominantly hit by militancy in the last few years.The BJP emerged as the largest party in the Jammu province and the Congress did marginally better in the Kashmir Valley. In the Jammu region that includes the districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Udhampur, Poonch and Rajouri, the BJP candidates won 212 wards, the Congress 110, National Panthers Party 13 and Independents 185.In the Valley, with Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara, Badgam, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Bandipora and Ganderbal as its districts, the Congress won 79 wards, the BJP 75, independents 71, Peoples Conference two and others two. In Leh the Congress swept the polls winning all the 13 seats while in Kargil, the Congress won six and Independents seven wards. Independents supported by former minister and Peoples Conference Chief Sajad Gani Lone won all the 13 seats in the Handwara municipal committee polls in Kupwara. Among the prominent winners was Junaid Azim Mattu who left the regional National Conference (NC) after he disagreed with the poll boycott decision by the NC. Prominent among the losers was Asifa Tariq Karra, the wife of senior Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra. Due to security reasons the candidate names in the Valley were made public by the poll office only on the declaration of results. Amid tight security, the 4-phased municipal polls were completed peacefully in the state on October 16. (With additional information from IANS)