On December 23, Jammu and Kashmir declared the results of elections to its District Development Councils, the first to be held since the overnight revocation of Article 370 of the constitution by which the former state lost its special status on August 5, 2019.
The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration – known as the Gupkar Alliance and consisting of the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Conference, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and J&K Peoples Movement – secured 110 seats. Another 50 seats were bagged by Independent candidates.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 74 seats, while its associate – the newly formed Apni Party won 12 seats. The Congress managed to secure 26 seats and others like the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, the People’s Democratic Front and the Bahujan Samaj Party – each could secure only a couple of seats.
As these were the first elections following the end of autonomy in J&K, the stakes were high for everyone involved.
While the Gupkar Alliance was initially set on boycotting the DDC elections, fearing greater gains for the BJP, decided against it. With a large victory, it remains to be seen how the Alliance is able to revive itself as a strong political force in Jammu and Kashmir.
