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REVEALED: Gupkar Alliance�s plan to 'checkmate' BJP with Congress� support after J&K DDC polls

Srinagar
December 26, 2020

Buoyed by its performance in the recently concluded district level local body polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration has now stepped up efforts for control over the District Development Councils in those districts where no party or alliance has gained a majority.

The PAGD has got a clear majority in six districts, followed by the BJP in five in the first ever DDC election. However, the alliance of seven mainstream regional parties has got an edge over the saffron party in six other districts as it is just short of one or two seats for the majority, while the BJP is in the driver's seat in one district.

Independent candidates, who have won 50 seats across the Union Territory, hold sway in the rest of the two districts - Srinagar and Poonch where they have won seven and eight seats respectively.

Congress, on the other hand, can play the role of king maker in the districts where there is no majority for any party even though it has ended up with only 26 seats across 20 districts - 10 each in the Kashmir region and Jammu region and has already indicated that it is committed to �checkmate� the BJP wherever possible.

There are 280 DDC constituencies 14 each in 20 districts and so far the results for 278 have been declared. The results of two DDC constituencies are awaited as the counting of votes has been kept in abeyance to clear doubts over the citizenship of two of the contesting candidates from North Kashmir's Bandipora and Kupwara districts.