The BJP said that by showing faith in democracy, the people of Kashmir delivered a slap in the faces of separatists. The "lotus bloom" in the valley was described by the BJP as a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies.

 

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held a press conference at the party headquarters here on Wednesday.

 

BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the District Development Council polls in Jammu & Kashmir. BJP has won 74 seats, National Conference 67 seats, PDP 27 and Congress has got 26 seats.

 

Prasad said the BJP received a total of 4,87,364 votes, while the National Conference got about 2.82 lakh votes, PDP got around 57,000 and Congress got just 1.39 lakh votes. He said, "Thus, in the Jammu & Kashmir DDC election, the BJP has got more votes than the NC, PDP and Congress combined."

 

He said, "There are 49 independents who won in the Zilla Vikas Parishad elections and many of them were supported by the BJP."

 

He said, "Those talking about the PAGD alliance victory, they should know that this alliance was formed as these parties could not face the BJP alone."

 

The minister said that the people of Kashmir have recognised the difference between those who rule and those who work. People have seen that democracy can bring development to their doorstep. People believe in democracy. BJP's victory in J&K is very encouraging."

 

He said that the people of Kashmir delivered a big slap in the face of the separatists. In Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama and other places, a large number of people showed active participation in voting. The separatists are believed to have influence in these places. In Pulwama, just 7.4 per cent voting was recorded whereas in the Panchayat elections of 2018, only 1.1 per cent votes were cast here.