Ahead of ULB counting, parties stake claim for Srinagar Mayor
JUNAID SIDIQ. Updated: 10/19/2018 11:35:53 AM
Front Page
SRINAGAR: Even as the results of recently concluded Urban Local Bodies (ULB) polls is state will come out on Saturday, almost all the political parties who had contested the elections are confident of their candidate becoming the next Mayor of Srinagar as are they of forming the municipal government.
The bugle for the next mayor for Srinagar was blown by none other than Governor Satya Pal Malik himself earlier this month, who in an interview to a national channel, had said that the next mayor for Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be a “foreign educated”, hinting towards former National Conference (NC) spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu.
Speculations are rich that Mattu went against the party’s decision to boycott the election over Article35-A row and contested the ULB polls with an eye to take over as a Mayor of the Srinagar city.
After Malik’s assertions many political parties have come in open claiming that the next Mayor for Srinagar city will be from their party.
State BJP President Ravinder Raina, assured of sweeping the local elections, told The News Now that it will be the first time that a Mayor of Srinagar will be from his party.
“I can assure you that the next Mayor in Srinagar is from our party,” Raina said.
The BJP had already won 71 seats uncontested in the municipal polls in Kashmir.
J&K Congress President Ghulam Ahmad Mir also confident of emerging as a single largest party in the state, has staked the claim to grab the seat of Mayor for Srinagar city.
Talking to The News Now, Mir said the other political parties and Independent candidates should unanimously give their support to the Congress to show their "secular credibility".
“It is time for all candidates who will be declared winners in the elections to show whether they are with secularism or support the communal ideology of the BJP,” Mir said.
Similarly, former minister and people’s conference leader Sajad Gani Lone on Thursday claimed that Srinagar will have a Mayor from his party Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference.
“All set inshallah to have the first mayor from PC. Expecting very good results. Time to give Srinagar what it deserves. A set of hardworking people who work there on the ground,” Lone tweeted on Thursday.
“And PC all set to take over urban bodies in kupwara Handwara Langet sumbal Pattan among others. Let us hope we r able to contribute to planned urbanisation which I believe is the future,” he added.
Not leaving behind the race, Janata Dal United JD (U) state president GM Shaheen also claimed that the next Mayor in Srinagar Municipal Corporation will be from his party.
Shaheen claimed that around 17 of its party candidates have already won uncontested in different parts, asserting that his party is ‘confirmed’ to win 20 to 25 more seats after the counting day of ULB polls.
The two major regional political parties National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had boycotted the polls citing Article 35-A as the reason. Both the parties have asked the Centre to clear its stand on it and also take “effective steps” to protect it.
The results of the ULB polls will be declared on October 20. The counting will start at 9.00 am.
Updated On 10/19/2018 11:36:16 AM