50 candidates to contest from 52 municipal wards across south Kashmir

Only 50 candidates are in fray in the upcoming Urban Local Bodies polls for 53 municipal wards across South Kashmir.  In many wards, not a single candidate has turned up to contest and in most others only one is in the fray.

The last date of filing of the nomination papers is on Wednesday, so there is little hope that the number will increase.

Two out of four municipal committees in Kulgam district – Kulgam and Devsar  – are going to polls in the first phase.

“In the thirteen designated wards of Kulgam municipal committee only 6 candidates are in fray,” said an official. “No one is contesting in seven wards”.

Similarly, in eight wards of  Devsar municipal committee, 9 candidates have filed the nomination forms. “All wards here have at least a candidate,” the official said.

Three of the municipal committees in Anantnag district –Qazigund, Achabal and Kokernag – are also going for polls in the first phase.

In the seven designated wards of Qazigund municipal committee, six candidates are in the fray, one each for the six wards. Nobody is contesting from the seventh, an official said.

In eleven designated wards of Achabal municipal committee, only 9 candidates are contesting.

A migrant candidate from Pandit community Reshab Bali is also among the candidates.

“Bali is an engineering graduate and is affiliated with BJP,” the official said.

Twenty candidates have filed nomination papers for the 13 designated wards of Kokernag municipal committee.

The scrutiny of papers will be held today and the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is September 28.

A source said that most of the candidates who have filed nomination forms are either affiliated with Bhartiya Janta Party or Congress.

The two major parties National conference and Peoples Democratic Party have already decided to boycott both the Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat polls in the wake of the controversy surrounding Article 35 A.

“In most of the municipal wards only a single candidate has filed nomination papers  and he is likely to get elected unopposed,” an official said.