Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
Of these candidates, eight are Independents, followed by three from the BJP, two each from the National Conference and the Congress and one each from the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), People Democratic Front (PDF) and the Peoples Conference (PC), as per data of the state election authority.
Avtar Singh, a Sikh who contested as Independent candidate in the Dadsara constituency of Pulwama district, won the DDC polls by just three votes.
Singh polled 246 votes while rival NC candidate Ali Mohmmad Bhat polled 243 votes.
Khalid Bibi won Larnoo segment of Anantnag district on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket with a thin margin of seven votes as she polled 4,580 votes against his rival Independent candidate Sajida Begam, who polled 4,573 votes.
Two candidates lost by just 11 votes in Shopian district. Former BJP minister Sham Lal Choudhary lost in the Suchetgarh constituency of Jammu district by 11 votes.
As per figures of the state election authority, Sham Lal Choudhary polled 12,958 votes against Independent candidate Taranjit Singh, who polled 12,969 votes and lost by a very thin margin of 11 votes in Suchetgarh segment of Jammu district.
Choudhary was a cabinet minister in the BJP-PDP coalition government in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Similarly, Independent candidate Bilqees Jan won Zainapora-I seat in Shopian district by defeating her rival candidate Gul Iqbal by 11 votes. She polled 9,342 votes while Gul polled 135 votes.
Two candidates won by just 14 votes in Udhampur and Pulwama districts.
Ashu Sharma of the BJP defeated Panthers party candidate Rishma Sambyal in the Tikri seat of Udhampur district by 14 votes.
In the Qamarwari constituency of Srinagar district, Independent candidate Yaseen Rather won by just 21 votes defeating rival candidate of JKAP, Parvaiz Mir.
The PAGD swept the maiden DDC polls by winning 110 seats, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party by getting 74 seats after securing the largest vote share in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.
The results of four constituencies – one each in Bandipora and Kupwara districts of north Kashmir and Poonch and Rajouri districts in Jammu region – were awaited. ( PTI )
