Omar Abdullah accuses J&K govt of coercing Independents to join BJP camp post poll outcome

A day after the DDC poll results, NC vice president Omar Abdullah accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of trying to coerce Independents to join the BJP camp. While the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration and BJP have secured 110 and 75 seats respectively, the 50 seats bagged by Independent candidates might prove to be crucial. Moreover, the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party with 12 seats is also perceived to be close to BJP.

Taking a dig at the J&K government, he contended that it did not seem to have enough work to do. To buttress his claim, Abdullah alleged that an ex-NC MLC was taken away by the police to prevent him from reaching out to the Independents in his district. Additionally, he accused the local authorities of transporting some Independent DDC members to Srinagar for talks. 

Read: Chidambaram Sees 'good Signs' In DDC Polls Results After Congress Wins 26 Of 118 Contested

The first-ever DDC polls in J&K

The DDC election was conducted in 8 phases between November 28 and December 19, with a voter turnout of 51.42%. It was the first big election held after the revocation of J&K's special status. Requisite amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act 1989 and J&K Panchayati Raj Rules 1996 enabled the setting up of District Development Councils. The DDC which will have a term of 5 years replaces the District Planning and Development Boards which were headed by a Cabinet Minister of the erstwhile state of J&K. 

The People's Alliance for Gupkar Alliance emerged as the single-largest coalition, BJP too made inroads in the Union Territory by becoming the single-largest party. The PAGD's constituents- NC, PDP, JKPC, CPI(M) and JKPM bagged 67, 27, 8, 5 and three seats respectively. After winning 26 seats in the DDC election, Congress too has decided to support the opposition alliance. 

As per BJP's DDC polls in-charge Anurag Thakur, the combined vote share of BJP and Independents amounts to a little over 52%. Speaking exclusively with Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Tuesday, the MoS Finance asserted that the people wanted to move towards development. Furthermore, he hailed the results as a "win for democracy". Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti contended that the people's verdict was a rejection of the decision to abrogate Article 370.

Read: J&K DDC Polls A Huge Win & Slap In Separatists' Faces: BJP Touts 'more Votes Than Gupkar'