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While a national debate on the future of the Provincial Councils (PCs) system continues, the nine provinces in the country are currently administered by the Provincial Governors appointed by the President. The five-year terms of all the PCs has lapsed and the elections cannot be held until the Delimitation Report is completed, a requirement under the new electoral system. The
2399 Photo for representation only. - PTI file photo
IN the absence of an Assembly, District Development Councils (DDCs) have been conceived as the link between the people and the government in Jammu and Kashmir. The first-ever DDC polls across 20 districts of the new Union Territory mark the reopening of the political space and restoration of the link that was effectively snapped with the dissolution of the Assembly in November 2018 and then the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year. The decision of the mainstream J&K-based parties to first contest and then come together, setting aside differences, is a welcome move. The results, though, have been on expected lines. The Farooq Abdullah-led People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, a seven-party grouping that includes rivals NC and PDP, has won it big in Kashmir, and the BJP in Jammu. The BJP may have described the victory of three of its candidates in the Valley as a wave of change and an affirmation of the Centre’
The DDC elections, the results of which were declared (barring two berths) has been a major electoral exercise in Jammu and Kashmir after the reading down of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and the subsequent bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union territories. The development was keenly watched and is being commented in the media. Here follow some of the editorials that have appeared in the major non-Jammu and Kashmir newspapers.
BJP Kashmir unit Sunday facilitated newly District Development Council (DDC) members. Pic: Internet
Spot The Winner In J&K, The Alliance Has Spoken
There is thus reason to view the outcome as an expression of the people’s opinions on the Centre’s interventions