The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) candidates contesting the upcoming District Development Council (DDC) elections Thursday filed nominations for the first phase to be held on November 28.
PAGD, a group of seven political parties, which vows for restoration of Article 370 had last week decided to contest the DDC polls with joint candidates.
The PAGD, according to the list, has fielded 27 candidates from three parties including National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party and Peoples Conference.
NC has the highest number of seats to contest and will have 21 candidates contesting the first phase of the polls. The constituencies from where NC candidates have been fielded includes Ruhama, Tangmarg, Kunzer, DH Pora, Sagam, Pahalgam, Tangdar, Khansaheb, Gurez, Tulail, Sumbal, Harwan 1 to 6, Khonmoh-1, Dhara, Kellar-1 and Gund-1 constituencies.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates will be contesting on seats from Kunzar, Larnoo, Kalaroos and Kellar-2 constituencies. As per the list issued by PAGD, People’s Conference candidates will be contesting polls from Rafiabad and Kralpora constituencies in the first phase.
The PAGD spokesman and PC Chairman, Sajad Gani Lone, in a tweet said that all the approved candidates have filed their nomination papers.
“PAGD candidates approved for the first phase have already filed their papers. List was conveyed to the parties. I am tweeting this in response to some media reports of the list not having been issued yet,” Lone tweeted.
The election commission has announced DDC polls on 280 seats in 8 phases in J&K.
On November 9, Dr Farooq Abdullah who is the PAGD president, said candidates of the amalgam’s constituents will fight the DDC polls on their own party symbols. The DDC poll would be the first major political activity to take place in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year.
According to the notifications, the last date for submitting nominations for the first phase was November 12 followed by scrutiny a day later and withdrawal of candidature on November 16.
The polling would be held from 7 am to 2 pm on November 28. The counting of votes for all the phases would be on December 22.
Meanwhile, a senior NC leader told the Greater Kashmir that candidates for rest of the phases of the polls will be finalised in a meeting of the PAGD parties on Friday.