The deputy mayor of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Sheikh Imran, was removed from his post on Monday after majority of corporators passed a no-confidence motion against him.
SMC commissioner Khurshid Sanai said an application seeking removal of the deputy mayor was signed by 47 of the total 70 corporators.
He said new deputy mayor would be elected in next three to four days.
The councilors from Peoples Conference, National Conference and Congress and Independent corporators moved no confidence motion against Imran and expressed their support to Mayor Junaid Azam Mattu.
Many corporators told Rising Kashmir that confidence motion was moved to keep BJP away from electing its own Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
A coporator wishing anonymity said they have decided to support incumbent Mayor to foil designs of BJP. “It was a collective decision taken in the interest of people”.
When Imran was elected as Deputy Mayor, he was backed by Congress. However, he later joined Peoples Conference (PC) of Sajjad Gani Lone.
Another corporator said another group of corporators from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and independents are mulling to move no confidence motion against the SMC Mayor.
“Within 2-3 days, there will be new Mayor also,” he said.
BJP’s Kashmir Media Incharge Manzoor Bhat said moving no confidence against Deputy Mayor was long pending demand of the SMC Corporators.
“We have 11 coporators in the SMC and BJP backed the no confidence motion. We supported the no confidence motion because public works were suffering in Srinagar,” he said.
Imran is under detention at MLA Hostel here along with several other political leaders after the Centre scrapped provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories.