BSP not to contest ULB elections in JK

Bahujan Samaj Party today said that the BSP will not participate in upcoming urban local bodies (ULB) elections in Jammu and Kashmir as the situation was "not conducive for the polls" in the state.

"BSP high command has decided not to contest the municipal elections to respect the sentiment of the majority of the people who are not in favor of the polls at this moment," state president of the party Som Raj Majotra told reporters here.

He said the atmosphere in the state was not conducive for holding elections.

"Conducting elections in such circumstances is likely to aggravate the situation in the state," Majotra said claiming "the BJP has failed bitterly on all fronts and is working in a dictatorial way ignoring democratic norms".

The BSP leader suggested the Governor Satya Pal Malik postpone the elections and work for normalization of the situation.

National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have also boycotted the polls.

He accused the BJP-RSS combine of forcing elections on the people of the state against their wishes.

"BJP-RSS know their support base has dwindled and want a free run for their candidates in the absence of main players as they love power more than anything else," he claimed.

Asked about the stand of the party on the Panchayat elections scheduled to be held in November-December, he said the party would take a decision on it later after taking into account the ground situation.

The urban local body elections will be conducted in four phases starting October 8, whereas the panchayat polls will be held in nine-phases from November 17.