NC spokesperson Junaid Mattu resigns over boycott of Jammu and Kashmir ULB polls

National Conference spokesperson Junaid Mattu tweeted his resignation on Tuesday. Mattu said he was resigning “based on my humble disagreement with the party’s decision to boycott the upcoming Urban Local Bodies and panchyat polls”. He added that his resignation from the party had been sent to the JKNC general secretary. [caption id=“attachment_5258861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Junaid Mattu. Image courtesy: @Junaid_Mattu. Twitter[/caption] Mattu said, “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.” Mattu added that he will announce his candidacy for the ULB elections from Srinagar and that he remains committed to serving his people and helping the city he grew up in “meet the challenged it is faced with.” Mattu ended his series of tweets by saying he would not be addressing the media or taking any questions today. The party accepted Mattu’s resignation, tweeting: “ Jammu and Kashmir National Conference is pleased to accept the resignation of Junaid Azim Mattu from the basic membership of party.” The ULB polls will be held in four phases from 8 to 16 October. The panchayat elections will be held in nine phases on a non-party basis beginning 17 November. The notification for the first phase of panchayat elections will be issued on 23 October. The two major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir — the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — have decided to boycott the polls, saying that the central government is yet to declare its stand on Article 35A.