DDC polls: Elected representatives to take oath in name of Indian Constitution

New Delhi, Dec 23: The Centre would have much to smile about following the conduct of the district development council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir. This was the first electoral exercise post the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K.

The participation in the elections were good and the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration welcomed the results and this shows that all want democracy which will ultimately result in development of the Union Territory. One of the biggest positives was the participation of the Gupkar Alliance post the scrapping of the special status.

This would also be for the first time that the elected representatives will be taking oath in the name of the Indian Constitution and not the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.

The turn out of the voters in large numbers was also a positive. Srinagar polled 35.3 per cent votes. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the turn out was 7.9 per cent. In the year 2018 Srinagar polled 14.50 per cent in the panchayat polls.

Awantipora recorded 9.9 per cent when compared to the 0.4 per cent and 3 per cent in the panchayat polls of 2018 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections respectively. Anantnag had recorded 9.3 per cent polling in 2018 and 13.8 per cent in 2019. In the DDC elections, the turn out. Was 24.9 per cent.