Anantnag Feb. 6: The People?s Democratic Party and the Congress have swept the municipal polls in South Kashmir, bagging 54 and 26 seats, respectively.

The PDP won all the nine seats that went to the polls today in Bijbehara municipal committee, the native place of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Four PDP candidates had been elected uncontested.

The PDP won more than half the seats in the municipal committees of Shopian and Pulwama. It also gained control of the Anantnag municipal council.

Around 44 per cent of the electorate turned out in Pulwama and Anantnag districts braving icy winds.

The polls were held peacefully despite a poll boycott call by separatists.

The representatives for the municipal committees of Pampore, Khrew, Awantipore and Tral and parts of Shopian, Pulwama, Bijbehara and Anantnag had been elected unopposed while some wards in Anantnag and Pulwama districts were not contested as no nomination papers were filed.

?Militants had issued threats to the candidates in several parts of south Kashmir and that is the reason there was no contest,? a police officer told The Telegraph.

Barring this town, where the turnout was 23.52 per cent, brisk polling was reported from other areas of the two districts.

Braving bad weather, many people in Qazigund, Dooru, Kulgam and in Pulwama came out this morning to cast their vote.

?I came early today to vote as this town has been totally neglected by the administration. We are voting to elect our local representative who will hopefully do something to improve civic facilities in Anantnag town,? said Bashir Ahmad.

?It was a peaceful day and voters came out in good numbers in both the districts to exercise their franchise without any fear. The overall poll percentage in south Kashmir is 44 per cent,? said a senior police officer in Srinagar.

A resident said he hoped the government would provide funds to the elected representatives so that they could do something for their respective localities.

Both the south Kashmir districts have been strongholds of the ruling People?s Democratic Party.

Most of the 17 seats that the ruling PDP has in the 87-member state legislative Assembly belong to the two south Kashmir districts.

The last phase of the civic polls will be held on February 10.