Peoples Conference candidate and former spokesman of National Conference Junaid Mattu has been elected as mayor of Srinagar.
Mattu had quit NC days before the Municipal polls after the party decided to boycott the civic polls.
According to an official, he got 40 votes out of 70 while four votes were declared invalid. The election was held at Srinagar Municipal Corporation.
He started his political career with Peoples Conference of Sajad Lone, an ally of BJP, after 2010 summer agitation.
He later quit the party and joined NC and was made spokesman of the party by Omar Abdullah.
He quit NC on the eve of civic polls and contested as an independent candidate with the backing of Peoples Conference.
He had contested the polls from four wards.
Saleem Lone, an independent candidate was elected as deputy mayor.
Winning the mayoral position by PC is likely to help the party extend its support base in Srinagar ahead of assembly polls next year.
In a series of tweets, Mattu sought to justify his decision to resign from NC and contest the civic polls
“Based on my humble disagreement with the party's decision to boycott the upcoming ULB and panchayat polls, I have just sent my resignation from the party to the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference general secretary,” Mattu said in a tweet
In another tweet, he wrote: “I strongly believe that leaving our grassroots democratic institutions open to misrepresentation would inflict serious harm on the state and also wreak havoc with our social fabric and cultural legacy.”
He also said he was committed to serving the people and helping the city he grew up in to meet the challenges it is faced with.
With Mattu's election as Mayor, both the SMCs in Jammu and Srinagar, winter and summer capital of the state, are now under the control of allies, BJP, and PC.