NC, PDP taught a lesson, Satisfied with 4% voter turnout: Ram Madhav

Training guns at National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for criticizing low voter turnout in recently held municipal polls, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday said many leaders from these parties were elected as Members of Parliament with fewer votes. “We are very happy and satisfied. Our candidates have won in the valley. Even 4 percent votes matters for us,” Madhav said while felicitating the winning candidates of party at a function here. He accused NC and PDP of threatening people and held them responsible for low…

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Post PDP, BJP fall Rajnath meets Mehbooba

PDP President and former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today again appealed Centre for the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan to end the present phase of acrimony and confrontation between the two south Asian neighbouring States. According to party spokesman in her meeting with Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh here today, Mehbooba Mufti said good relations with Pakistan have a positive impact on the ground situation in the State and it also encourages reconciliation among stakeholders within the State which automatically results into decline in alienation levels of people.…

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#HorseTrading; BJP placates rebels, reaches out to Independents

Following its failure to get a majority in most of the civic bodies in the Jammu region, the BJP has initiated the process of placating the rebels and is also luring Independents to manage the required numbers in various municipalities. While the party on Sunday roped in an Independent who won from the Nagri Prole Municipal Committee, former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta approached Udhampur MLA Pawan Gupta to muster a majority in the Udhampur Municipal Council in which the party has got only four of the total 21 seats.…

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BJP grabs Jammu, Independents win majority of seats in Srinagar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the Jammu Municipal Corporation polls while Independent candidates won majority number of seats in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. Counting took place at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC). Of the 74 wards in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Independent candidates won 49 seats, Congress got 12 seats, BJP secured four seats, while in one ward no votes were polled and 8 seats remained uncontested. In the 75-seat Jammu Municipal Corporation polls, the BJP secured 43 seats, Congress won 14 while Independent candidates got 18 seats. Meanwhile,…

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Extending 73rd, 74th constitutional amendments to J&K direct attack on Article 370: NC

Extending 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments to Jammu and Kashmir is a “direct attack” on Article 370, the National Conference said on Thursday, and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for advocating such “alterations.” Day after state BJP president Ravinder Raina pitched for extension of these amendments to Jammu and Kashmir—which would give greater financial and administrative powers to panchayats by putting in place a three-tier panchayat system—the NC’s general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said: “It is a calculated attempt to fiddle with the state’s special status. The amendments in J&K’s Panchayati…

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161 Free symbols including, Shoe, Chappals, Chilli to spice up coming panchayat election

From chappals to shoe and from bangles to green chilli, at least 161 symbols finalised by the state election authority for the upcoming panchayat elections will offer a bewildering choice to the electorate who will elect their new sarpanches and panches. The interesting part of the show during the campaigning will include the ‘mode of expression’ to be chosen by a candidate highlighting his or her symbol, including chappals, shoe, green chilli, bangles, bricks, etc. to woo voters. It will also be exciting to see as how the candidates, having…

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

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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BJP, PDP ‘Spoiled’ poll atmosphere in Kashmir, resulted in low voter turnout, slams Congress

The Congress on Thursday accused the Centre and the erstwhile BJP-PDP government in Jammu and Kashmir of “spoiling” the atmosphere in the state and held them responsible for the current situation there, where people are “afraid” to cast their vote. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who hails from the state, said this was not the first time that voter turnout in municipal polls in the Kashmir Valley has been low compared to that in the Jammu region. Senior party leader Ambika Soni alleged that…

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Voting begins for IInd phase of Urban Local Bodies, 1029 candidates in fray for 263 wards across JK

Amid tight seceuity arrangements polling in the second phase of Urban Local Bodies began on Wednesday.At 8:00 am 341 votes (211 from male and 130 from females) were cast in Sumbal. The voting started at 6: am and it will end at 4:00 pm. Over 1000 candidates are contesting polls in the second phase in 263 wards spanning 13 districts across the state – seven of which are in Kashmir. The second phase of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) polls would be held in the State on Wednesday and fate of…

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Low voter turnout in Kashmir Civic Polls the beginning of a downward slide for electoral process?

Unable to mobilise electoral support, Kashmir’s civic poll candidates on Monday managed to draw a dismal 8.3 per cent turnout during the first leg of the elections in the region. “It wasn’t even a trickle,” remarked an Independent candidate who was in fray for the civic polls in north Kashmir’s Baramulla. The ward he was contesting from had a total of 1,006 votes. His wife, his polling agent and the candidate himself made up the only three votes that were cast on Monday. Unable to mobilise electoral support, Kashmir’s civic…

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