Srinagar Municipal Corporation: Junaid Mattu elected, Mayor for the second time
‘The Mayor sealed his victory with 44 votes with the help of BJP, 10 Congress Councillors’
‘Some Councillors staged protest calling the election merely a drama’
Gowhar Nazir
Srinagar: Junaid Azim Mattu was declared the mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday for the second time after winning the mayoral elections of SMC.
Mattu, 35, who was formerly associated with National Conference and Peoples Conference, got 62% of the total votes in the open ballot elections which were held at SMC’s corporate hall.
As per officials, Mattu proved the majority by 44 votes, whileas ex-deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran has got 7 votes in the election and other 26 walked out during the process.
Junaid Azim Mattu declared his win through a tweet which reads as, “What a humbling, emphatic verdict! We have touched the 2/3rd majority mark! Thank You to my fellow Hon’ble Corporators and the people of Srinagar for your trust and faith again. Together we will all serve Srinagar and take it to new heights!.”
Earlier, Mattu was removed as the SMC mayor in June after he lost a no-confidence motion moved against him by some corporators.
He had then claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Conference had joined hands in Srinagar to remove him. However, he had won the 2018 elections with the BJP’s support.
Interestingly, Junaid Azim Matoo is known for deserting two mainstream parties National Conference and Peoples’ Conference one after the other.
Meanwhile during the election process, the incumbent Deputy Mayor of National Conference Parvez Qadri along with some Councillors staged protest. They cried foul and alleged that Mayor has already been selected while election is mere a drama.
While addressing the reporters Qadri said, “I was thrashed by police and forcibly taken out from the Hall. The Municipal Act was violated and notification for the election was issued violating all the rules. Being the Deputy Mayor and Acting Mayor I was supposed to be taken into loop. It was not an election but a ‘selection’ process.”
