Gupkar Alliance to contest coming DDC elections

Gupkar Alliance to contest coming DDC elections

Srinagar: Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, an amalgam of seven political parties, on Saturday an announced that it will contest the coming District Development Council (DDC) elections.
“One point of the agenda (for the meeting) was the upcoming DDC elections, and a unanimous decision was taken that we will fight these elections unitedly despite the abruptness of the timing,” the Alliance’s spokesperson, Sajad Ghani Lone, said.
“All of a sudden, they (government) sprung a surprise and are going to finish the task within a month,” said Lone, who was flanked by NC leader and PAGD chairperson Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief and the alliance’s vice chairperson Mehbooba Mufti.
He said the PAGD will go through the modalities and Farooq Abdullah would release the names of candidates.
This is the first major electoral exercise which the political parties would be unitedly undertaking since abrogation of Article 370 last year on August 5. Earlier, there was uncertainty about the mainstream political parties contesting the elections. Both the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, the key political parties of the Gupkar Alliance, had officially stayed away from panchayat and urban local body polls in 2018.
But The announcement to contest polls is apparently aimed at not allowing the BJP and other political parties to have a cakewalk. During the civic body polls, the boycott by NC and PDP had given a significant boost to BJP to emerge as frontrunner in J&K. Until then, the saffron party had not even opened its account in Kashmir in the erstwhile state assembly election.
The elections to DDCs, which is the third tier of Panchayat Raj, will be held in eight phases from December 1 to 24. Also, this period will also witness polls to vacant panch and sarpanch seats.

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