Srinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday distributed mandates to its party candidates for the upcoming Block Development Council (BDC) polls in Kashmir.
As many as 122 candidates were given mandates by the party on Sunday, while the rest of the mandates would be distributed in coming days.
“We have sent the names of three candidates from each block to party high command, they decided the final candidature of 122 party people today,” BJP’s BDC poll in charge Kashmir, Altaf Thakur said.
The BJP is contesting the election on 131 seats out of total 137 BDC seats in Kashmir Valley.
He said the list of the candidates was released in presence of senior party leaders Abdul Gani Kohli, Sham Lal Sharma, Surinder Amberdar, Sofi Yusuf, Dr Ali, Altaf Thakur and Arif Raja.
“There are two candidates from Sikh community, six from Pandit community and rest are Muslim candidates,” Thakur said.
The candidates from Pulwama district would be filing nomination papers Monday at Deputy Commissioner’s office.
The BDC polls in J&K are being held at a time when major political party offices in Kashmir, including National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Conference (PC), Awami Itehad Party (AIP), Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM) and have been abandoned by functionaries after government detained key party leaders and functionaries in wake of revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
As per official figures, 7528 panchayat members were elected in Kashmir last year, while as, elections could not be held for 12054 panchayat seats. The resignations and deaths of several panchs have taken the number of vacant seats to a total 12, 565.
Jammu division has 18, 089 panchayat members, while 166 seats are vacant.
In Ladakh, in 31 blocks, a total number of 1414 panchs and 192 sarpanchs were elected, while polls couldn’t be held for 24 seats. Nineteen members resigned, two have died making for a total vacancy of 45.
As of today, the total vacancy of panch and sarpanches in the state stands at 12, 776.
NC and PDP had boycotted the panchayat polls held in December last year, but polls were held amid strong protests by these parties.
NC’s provisional President Davinder Singh Rana told media persons on Sunday that they (NC leadership) would decide on participation in BDC polls only after all its leaders are released.
However, BJP has mobilized its cadre in Kashmir to ensure maximum participation in the second tier of local government under the Panchayati Raj system.

Mir Iqbal