The party besides not doing well in the Muslim dominated areas also lost some seats to Panthers Party and independents in Hindu majority areas of Jammu.

On the other hand Guplar Alliance or the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) led by Farooq Abdullah was able to bag 112 seats in entire Jammu and Kashmir.

While the BJP had attacked the Guplar Alliance by calling it “anti-national” and “against development of J&K”, the saffron party had also claimed earlier the DDC polls will be a referendum of people on abrogation of Article 370. President of J&K unit of the party Ravinder Raina had gone a step further and said that people of the UT will teach a lesson to the “Gupkar Gang”.

Soon after the results, senior leaders of BJP including Union Minister Anurag Thakur and others started giving statements on national televisions that it was a victory of BJP. The reason why the result was said to be in favour of BJP by its leaders was that it bagged 75 seats and became the single largest party.

However the party also had to portray to the country that abrogation of Article 370 was a decision that has been accepted by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

However given the fact that PAGD was an alliance of mainstream Kashmir based parties, they had fielded, on most seats, single candidate who represented the pre-poll alliance. PAGD bagged a whopping 112 seats and more than 30 seats in Jammu region alone. The BJP was able to win only three seats in Kashmir region.

BJP won 72 seats in Jammu region out of total 140 even then the party was content enough to celebrate.

Interestingly, PAGD candidates had alleged that they were not allowed to campaign for the DDC polls by the administration on the pretext of their security but the BJP leaders campaigned freely in Kashmir valley for the polls.

A senior leader of BJP told JK Newsline that Ravinder Raina who is the chief of J&K unit of BJP must be held responsible for the fact that PAGD – a Kashmir based alliance – won so many seats in the region while “we could not perform well even in our stronghold Jammu”.

The post Why is celebration a compulsion for BJP even when it lost half of the seats in its stronghold – Jammu? appeared first on JK Newsline.

The apex body demanding sixth schedule for Union Territory of Ladakh has stated in a press statement that it would boycott the LAHDC polls and run a campaign asking common people not to take part in the elections.

The move is going to make a dent in the vote bank of BJP in the arid desert of Ladakh as the party had gained a strong ground after the region was made a UT after its bifurcation from Jammu and Kashmir.

The apex body of People’s Movement for Sixth Schedule for Ladakh announced that it would boycott the LAHDC polls.

Rigzin Spalbar Former Chairman of LAHDC Leh in a press statement said “since COVID-19 pandemic and casualties  were on an upsurge, compelling the Chairman and Deputy Chairman LAHDC Leh to approach LG Ladakh in writing to take urgent measures to control the rising numbers of positive cases by suggesting a bi-weekly lockdown; it was expected that elections to constitute the 6th LAHDC Leh would be postponed. Inspite of that, the election were still announced”.  

He said that besides the worrisome status of the Pandemic, at present the entire Ladakh is in a state of uncertainty over the preservation of its unique tribal identity, habitats and ecosystem vis-a-vis its  future existence and survival due to lack of constitutional safeguard in the form of the 6th Schedule. 

“I am of the firm opinion that holding the elections to LAHDC Leh, without extending the relevant provisions of the 6th Schedule of our Constitution, (which empowers the Councils by vesting it with legislative powers) is meaningless. The democratically elected  Council, representing the popular will of the people of Ladakh, cannot continue to be a toothless & irrelevant ostentatious body like it was made to be so in the wake of the formation of UT Ladakh” he said.

Rigzin Spalbar also said participation in the LAHDC Leh elections and voting in it, “while now the demand for the grant of the 6th Schedule has got an unprecedented overwhelming support, may not serve our cause. It is only in the best interest of the demand for the 6th Schedule that we do not participate at all in the Elections unless our demand is met.
Therefore, I fervently appeal to the Apex Body of the 6th Schedule Movement to consider giving a call to not to participate or vote in the forthcoming elections to LAHDC Leh to strengthen the demand for grant of the 6th Schedule of our Constitution to Ladakh. It is to be noted that all socio-cultural, religious, trading, students & political organisations of Leh Ladakh have already extended their full support to the Apex Body led by the veteran leaders”.

The post Apex body demanding sixth schedule for Ladakh announces LAHDC poll boycott appeared first on JK Newsline.