M A I N   N E W S

PDP-Cong coalition sweeps Pulwama,
Anantnag civic elections

Srinagar, February 6
The ruling coalition of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress today swept the third phase of municipal polls in Pulwama and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir, where around 44 per cent of the electorate turned up for voting despite bad weather and poll boycott call by separatists, officials said here.

The PDP made a clean sweep in Bijbehara Municipal Committee, the native place of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, by winning all nine seats that went to polls today. Four PDP candidates had been elected uncontested, the officials said.

The PDP gained control of the Municipal Committees of Shopian and Pulwama by winning more than half the seats in both local bodies. While the ruling party got eight out of 13 seats in Pulwama, it also romped home with seven out of 13 in Shopian.

Alliance partner Congress bagged four seats in Shopian and two in Pulwama, while the rest went to the National Conference.

The PDP also gained control of the Anantnag Municipal Council, bagging 11 seats in the 21-member body. The Congress chipped in with five seats, while the National Conference got three and independents bagged one. Result on one seat was awaited.

The Kulgam local body went to the independents as they bagged seven of the 11 seats, while the National Conference got three and the Congress bagged one, the officials said.

The Congress had a victory of its own as it made a near clean sweep of Dooru Municipal Committee, taking 14 of the 15 seats, while coalition partner PDP bagged the remaining seat.

The PDP has already won the Mattan Municipal Committee without a contest as all its 10 candidates were elected uncontested to the 12-member House. There were no nominations filed for the remaining two seats, the officials said.

Only 69 seats were contested at the polls as 49 candidates from various municipal bodies had been elected unopposed.

Earlier in the day, 44 per cent of the electorate in the twin districts exercised their franchise defying chilly weather and militant threats, an official spokesman said here.

The polling began on a dull note in chilly and damp weather but picked up as the day wore on, with Pulwama recording 55 per cent turnout and Anantnag 33.89 per cent at the end of the polling, giving a combined poll percentage of 44 per cent in the two districts, the spokesman told PTI.

He said Qazigund and Dooru in Anantnag registered the highest turnout of 76.88 and 65.99 per cent, respectively.

However, Bijbehara, the home town of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and militancy-infested Kulgam had 32.21 and 37 per cent turnout, respectively, he said, adding that Anantnag recorded the lowest turnout, of 23.52 per cent.

Pulwama recorded the highest turnout of 59.26 per cent and militancy-infested Shopian only 49.90 per cent.

This was another impressive turnout in the state following the near 60 per cent polling the first phase in North Kashmir (Baramula and Kupwara) and around 22 per cent in the second in Srinagar, which was the highest in any polls in the summer capital since the eruption of militancy in the state.

Tight security arrangements were in place for today’s polls in view of militant threats. However, no untoward incident was reported from any part of the South Kashmir, he said. — PTI