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Jammu/Srinagar, October 20
The counting of votes in the Jammu and Kashmir civic polls was completed on Saturday with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as the largest party in the Jammu province and the Congress doing marginally better in the Kashmir Valley.
In the Jammu region that includes the districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Udhampur, Poonch and Rajouri, the BJP candidates won 212 wards, the Congress 110, National Panthers Party 13 and Independents 185.
In the Valley, with Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara, Badgam, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Bandipora and Ganderbal as its districts, the Congress won 79 wards, the BJP 75, independents 71, Peoples Conference two and others two.
In Leh the Congress swept the polls winning all the 13 seats while in Kargil, the Congress won six and Independents seven wards.
Independents supported by former minister and Peoples Conference Chief Sajad Gani Lone won all the 13 seats in the Handwara municipal committee polls in Kupwara.
Among the prominent winners was Junaid Azim Mattu who left the regional National Conference (NC) after he disagreed with the poll boycott decision by the NC.
Prominent among the losers was Asifa Tariq Karra, the wife of senior Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra.
Due to security reasons the candidate names in the Valley were made public by the poll office only on the declaration of results.
Amid tight security, the 4-phased municipal polls were completed peacefully in the state on October 16.
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Results of 17 seats from Bandipora in north Kashmir
BJP: 3
Cong: 12
Independent: 2
Results of 13 seats from Uri in North Kashmir's Baramulla
BJP: 0
Congress: 6
Independent: 7
All the 13 wards of Kupwara municipality in north Kashmir won by Independents.
Srinagar results for 31 municipal council seats
Independent: 19
Congress: 8
BJP: 4
In Handwara municipality, which is bastion of people's conference, six Independents have won while as one ward has been gone to BJP. The six Independents are People's Conference candidates
BJP sweeps the Mattan municipality in south Kashmir's Anantnag district. Five wards won by BJP and two by Congress.
In 17-ward Dooru-Verinag Municipal Committee of south Kashmir's Anantnag district, Congress wins 14 seats and BJP two.
Congress sweeps in Budgam. In six municipalities of Central Kashmir's Budgam district, Congress won 23 seats, Independents 16 and BJP 5
South Kashmir's Kokernag: Congress: 10 Independent: 2
Officials say 30,739 votes polled in four-phases of the municipal elections will be counted at district headquarters of Kashmir.
The election authorities have established 20 halls at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convocation Centre (SKICC) located on the banks of Dal Lake for the counting of 18,482 votes polled across 74 wards of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
At least 19,550 votes will be counted from central Kashmir’s Srinagar, Ganderbal, and Budgam districts.
Similarly, counting of 10,529 votes polled out of 65,146 in north Kashmir’s three districts – Kupwara, Baramulla, and Badipora - will be held at the respective district headquarters.
The central Kashmir districts recorded a voter turnout of 5.1 per cent while as north Kashmir districts recorded 16.2 per cent voter turnout.
The violence hit south Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout of 1.6 per cent as only 660 votes were polled out of 40,004 in 20 municipalities spread over four districts.
Authorities have put in adequate security arrangements in district headquarters of south Kashmir for the vote counting.
TNS/IANS