SRINAGAR: Due to several attacks and threats by terror groups, candidates in nearly 46% wards of Kashmir’s urban bodies going to polls in the first phase on October 8, have won uncontested. The majority of the winners belong to the BJP Out of 624 municipal wards, 215 are uncontested and 177 wards did not find even a single candidate. The nominations for all four phases of the polls are ending on Monday.Elections will be held in 232 wards for which 715 candidates, an estimated three candidates per ward, are in fray.Major regional parties, NC and PDP have boycotted the polls, claiming state's special status under Article 35-A of the constitution was under threat due to the legal challenge to this provision in the Supreme Court. But Congress and BJP have fielded their candidates except in those wards where terror threats are severe.The polls will be conducted in four phases from October 8 till October 16 while panchayat elections will be conducted in nine phases from November 17 to December 11 across the state. The municipal polls are being conducted in the state after a gap of 13 years with the last elections held in 2005. Last panchayat polls were held in 2011.A senior police officer said even as the Centre was sending 400 additional companies of armed forces for the poll duties, it was not possibleto provide security to each and every candidate because of the sheer number. “There is threat to at least 30 candidates,” he said.Separatists have called for a shutdown in Kashmir on October 8 to protest against the municipal polls. They have also asked people to dissociate themselves from the polls scheduled on October 8, 10, 13 and 16.The maximum number of wards which remain uncontested are in south Kashmir. BJP candidates won Devsar and Qazigund municipal committees in south Kashmir uncontested. Similarly, in Qazigund municipal body in Kulgam district, BJP won three wards without contest while four wards are due for contest with Congress. Not a single candidate has filed nomination papers for municipal committee Frisal in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. This is the lone urban body in the state where nobody has joined the fray, official sources said.However, at least two BJP candidates and one from the Congress publicly announced their withdrawal from the polls on Thursday.Ghulam Hassan Bhat, who claims to be BJP's constituency president for Dooru in Anantnag district, Thursday said he has decided to withdraw from the contest and also resign from the membership of the party. Mehrajuddin Raina, the BJP candidate for a ward in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), announced his withdrawal from local bodies polls through a video message.Terrorists in Kashmir have threatened to target anyone who participates in any elections.

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