“Efforts to convince the rival factions also on cards”: Senior Leaders
Bilal Furqani
SRINAGAR, Aug 25:
Amidst the efforts of unity among trade associations, the elections of Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), the largest platform of traders in the valley, will be held after 12 years in the first week of October.
A notification regarding the elections has been issued on behalf of the organization, according to which the elections will be held on October 8. The last elections of KTMF were held in 2011 and Mohammad Yasin Khan was elected as the President, while Manzoor Ahmad Bhat was elected as the Vice President and Bashir Ahmad Kingposh. Was elected as the General Secretary.
According to the constitution of the federation, elections were to be held after every 3 years, however, the leaders of the federation said that the elections could not be held due to unfavorable conditions after 2011 and was extended several times.
According to the notification, the nomination papers will be available from August 26. And the papers can be submitted till September 6, while the scrutiny of the papers will be on September 7 and the date of withdrawal of papers will be from September 11 to 13. Chief election commissioner of this election Khurshid Ahmad Shah said that the elections will be held on October 8 and on that day the votes will be counted and the successful candidate will be announced. Election of President, Senior Vice President and General Secretary will be done through secret ballot. Kursheed Ahmed Shah said, “Keeping in view the wider unity of traders under one flag, Calendar and Election Notification Released”. He said that the district organization will have 10 votes while the tehsils will have 4 votes, market committees and associations will have 2 votes and they can nominate their representatives for voting. Khurshid Ahmad Shah was nominated as the Chief Election Commissioner last year and was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing elections.
The Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) have been divided into several factions since the last elections, including the factions of Mohammad Sadiq Baqal, Bashir Ahmad Rather, Mohammad Rajab Kuchey Nazir Ahmad Shah and others. Sources say that it will be seen whether these leaders and their factions will participate in these elections or not. A senior leader of KTMF said that for the past several months, efforts to unite business associations have been going on and according to the constitution, the Chief Election Commissioner will take a decision on whether these leaders and their supporters can participate in the elections. However, said that out-of-box progress is also possible.