The J&K Apni Party (JKAP), a new regional party floated post August 5, 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday won two District Development Council (DDC) Chairman posts with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), denting the prospects of the Gupkar Alliance that had its eye on heading all 10 districts in the Valley.

The JKAP, headed by former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) minister and legislator Altaf Bukhari, has won the DDC Chairman polls in Srinagar and Shopian districts.

An official said JKAP candidate Aftab Malik bagged 10 votes out of 14 votes against three votes bagged by the Gupkar Alliance candidate Kaiser Ganai, also a member of the National Conference, in Srinagar, to win the Chairman’s post.

The JKAP had won three seats in the DDC polls, held in November-December last year, out of 14 in Srinagar district. It required the support of four more candidates to win the Chairman’s post. Sources said the BJP-backed independent candidates also backed the JKAP. The Gupkar Alliance had won only three seats from Srinagar.

In south Kashmir’s Shopian, JKAP candidate Bilqees Akhtar polled eight votes to win the Chairman’s post while the Gupkar Alliance candidate secured only six votes. Sources said the JKAP candidate was short of one vote and a candidate from the Gupkar Alliance, which also won seven seats out of 14 in Shopian, voted in favour of the JKAP.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) candidate Muhammad Afzal Parray won the Chairman’s post in Kulgam. The CPI(M) is the part of the Gupkar Alliance, apart from the National Conference (NC) and the PDP.

There are 20 districts in J&K, 10 each in the Kashmir region and the Jammu region. Under the first ever DDC polls last year, each district was divided into 14 segments and the elected candidates are now in the process of electing District Chairpersons of 20 districts.

Out of 10 districts in the Kashmir valley, the Gupkar alliance had won a majority of district-level polls, with nine seats in Kupwara, 10 in Budgam, nine in Pulwama, 12 in Anantnag, 12 in Kulgam and 11 in Ganderbal. The alliance was just short of one seat from a clear majority in the Baramulla, Shopian and Bandipora districts.

However, the exit of Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference (PC) dented the Gupkar Alliance’s chances to win the Chairman’s posts in north Kashmir, where the PC holds sway in the areas of Kupwara and Handwara. Many elected representatives have also changed loyalties in south Kashmir in favour of the JKAP.

The whole election process was carried out by District Panchayat Election Officer (DPEO) Kulgam, Showkat Aijaz Bhat and his team, smoothly.

“The wins show the success of people who reposed their trust and confidence in the Apni Party. The elected Chairpersons of Srinagar and other districts represent a new thought that focuses on the empowerment of the people at the grassroot level,” said JKAP’s Mr. Bukhari.

He said this is a new generation of leadership, which does not have political godfathers or dynastic legacies behind it. “This new leadership has been given a chance to bring a paradigm shift in local politics,” he added.

NC on defections

The NC has raised the issue of defections of elected DDC members with the Chief Election Commissioner, J&K, K. K. Sharma. An NC spokesman said the NC impressed upon Mr. Sharma to examine the issue “as it violates the people’s mandate and the spirit of democracy”. The party’s provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani and Anantnag MP Hasnain Masoodi brought the issue of defections of elected DDC members of Shopian to the notice of Mr. Sharma. They have urged the disqualification of such DDC members. “If the issue is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of democracy,” the NC spokesperson said.