The Bharatiya Janta Party is on celebration mode, thanks its performance in Jammu & Kashmir. The results are almost out for the recently held DDC or District Development Council polls.
The results are interesting as the Saffron party emerged as the single largest party in the polls. Out of the 276 results announced, BJP bagged 75 seats while the Gupkar Alliance secured 110 seats. Not far behind was Farooq Abdullah led National Conference which came in the second position with 67 seats.
But one major development was the winning of 49 independents from 280 seats. While BJP is celebrating its win in three seats in Kashmir, former Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah pointed out that the win of Gupkar Alliance should not be underplayed. Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP which is also part of Gupkar Alliance has won 27 seats while the Congress won 26 seats.
The polling for DDC was held in 8 phases between November 28 and December 19. About 52% of the 57 lakh eligible voters cast their votes, which were held rather peacefully.
The reason why it is a major cause for celebration for BJP is the fact that it is first election to be hled in the Valley, following the abolition of Article 370 in the valley. It is also known that Jammu & Kashmir was split into Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as two separate Union Territories.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Ram Madhav has said, “BJP is the largest single party. Even BJP’s vote share is the highest. That shows the BJP and Modi have a strong presence in J&K. Gupkar group was formed in Srinagar and they’ve been wiped out in that place. They have lost their agenda. People have voted for development. Votes have gone to BJP and independents.”
On the whole, there is a sense of jubilation within the Saffron party, with their party making political inroads into almost every state in the country.