Day: October 18, 2018

Unopposed poll not new in local bodies elections, In 2005, 114 candidates were chosen uncontested

Editor

Even as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) leaders are claiming that due to their boycott many candidates have been chosen unopposed in the local bodies elections, the poll data makes it clear that the uncontested election at the local level is not a new thing in J&K. In the 2005 civic elections, nearly 114 candidates were elected unopposed when the security situation was predominantly normal. In the just-concluded civic elections, 244 candidates have been elected unopposed and there was not even a single candidate in 177 wards,…

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Omar Abdullah attacks Mehbooba Mufti for calling Manan Wani a ‘Victim of Violence’

Editor

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah has accused PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti of showing ‘fake sympathy’ with sedition case accused Kashmiri students of Aligarh Muslim University and shedding crocodile tears over the encounter of slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Mannan Wani. “How short Ms Mufti’s memory is! She forgets that she was the architect and beneficiary (it kept her allies in good humour) for her entire period in office. She is in no position to criticise anyone for ‘relentless violence’,” Omar wrote on Twitter. Omar…

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Without public trust, holding elections in Kashmir was a bad idea

Editor

Since 1989, the first time I was old enough to understand the importance of elections in a democracy, elections in Jammu and Kashmir have intrigued me. I belong to the ‘J’ part of the state – Jammu – and it was fascinating to see the long queues outside polling stations in the Jammu region even as large-scale disenchantment with the political class became somewhat of a national phenomenon and kept growing roots. But, it was the Kashmir region and its hide-and-seek with elections, which was the subject of discussion in…

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