Srinagar, December 22: After the People's Alliance For Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) secured a big lead in the District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said their victory is a message from the electorate. The PAGD, an alliance of seven parties including NC and People's Democratic Allaince, was leading in 113 out of 280 seats of the DDC. Jammu and Kashmir DDC Election Results 2020 Live News Updates.

"The trends that have emerged in the DDC polls in J&K are very encouraging for @JKPAGD. The BJP had made this election a prestige issue about Art 370 & J&K’s special status. The people have now spoken & it’s for those who believe in democracy to pay heed to these voices (sic)," Omar Abdullah said in a tweet. He added their candidates defied "illegal detention" and "threats", and emerged victoriously.

"The @JKPAGD is an alliance that emerged out of the betrayal of the people of J&K on 5th Aug 2019. We have faced every obstacle - illegal detentions, agency threats & pressures, our candidates were locked up to stop them campaigning & from all this we are emerging victorious (sic)," Omar said.

"All of us in the @JKPAGD are deeply indebted & grateful to the people of J&K for your support at this critical juncture. We reaffirm our commitment to use all democratic & legal weapons at our disposal to continue to fight for our rights," the former Chief Minister added.

Omar Abdullah Tweets on DDC Election Results 2020:

Omar stressed that the PAGD maintains hold in Jammu region and not just in the valley. He said BJP's victory in 3 seats in Kashmir is highlighted, but the PAGD's in Jammu is ignored. He tweeted: "I understand the temptation to over play the 3 seats the BJP has won in the valley but why underplay the 35 wins/leads of the @JKPAGD in Jammu province. We aren’t Kashmir based parties, we are political parties with strong support in both Kashmir AND Jammu."

Of the 280 seats that went to polls for the DDC elections, the leads on 277 seats indicated that the PAGD has either won or is leading in 113 seats, the BJP leading on 71 segments, the Congress on 25, Apni Party which was launched after the abrogation of Article 370 on 11 and others on 55 segments.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2020 08:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).