The National Conference-Congress alliance on Sunday won the required number of seats to form the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, the next executive body for Kargil.
In the 30-member council, the NC won 11 seats, while the Congress won 7 seats. BJP won 2 seats and 1 seat went to an independent candidate. At the time of going to press, counting for the remaining 5 seats was underway. Members have been nominated for four council seats.

“This result sends a message to all forces and parties who have undemocratically and unconstitutionally divided the state of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh without the consent of its people,” NC Vice President Omar Abdullah said. ‘
“This victory belongs to the people of Zanskar, Kargil and Drass, who have decisively supported the National Conference-Congress alliance. We heartily congratulate all the elected councillors, who are serving the people. We also thank him for his unwavering support to the leadership of the Congress party,” he said.
“Congratulations to all the winning candidates and I am sure it will usher in a new democratic dawn in Ladakh and Kargil,” said Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal.
In this election, Kargil’s first since Ladakh became a union territory in 2019, the Congress campaigned against “divisive forces” in the country and urged voters to “keep the BJP out”. , while NC presented itself as the only solution. His slogan — “Hal Hai Hal Hai” — echoed through his campaign. It was also symbolic as the National Conference had to approach the Supreme Court after being denied its election symbol (plough) by the UT administration of Ladakh.
The BJP presented its development push, offering voters an example of the party’s work in neighboring Jammu and Kashmir and a better budget for UT. The previous council had three party members, of whom only one was directly elected and the rest defected from the PDP.
The party fielded 17 candidates this time for the elections to be held on October 4. Its only winning candidate in the previous election, Stenzenlake, retained his seat from the Cha constituency.
According to local residents, the BJP’s influence in this election was limited to areas bordering Leh, which vote differently than Kargil due to its different demographics. While Leh is a Buddhist-majority district led by the Ladakh Buddhist Association, Kargil is a Shia Muslim-majority area with two religious schools – Jamiat Ulema Kargil or Islamia School; and the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, which supports Congress. These religious organizations have long been influential in elections in the region.
However, Kargil this time tried to break out of control of religious madrasas with young candidates challenging the hold of “Aghaz” in areas like Salikot, where NC’s Muhammad Sajjad won against the BJP and the Congress. of This seat was previously held by independent candidate Agha Syed Hasan.
While NC candidate Abdul Wahid took Bhimbat constituency in Dras from partner Congress, incumbent party member Panchok Tashi retained his seat in Padua. In the Chaktan region, where the BJP has some influence, her party’s candidate Padma Dorje won the Stakche Khangral constituency by taking it away from the incumbent Congress.
In Ranbirpura in Dras, Congress defeated NC’s Mubarak Shah by over 500 votes while in Chokur, Congress retained its seat, defeating both BJP and NC candidates in the fray.
Also in Chaktan, Congress candidate Liaquat Ali Khan defeated BJP’s Mohsin Ali, who last time swore allegiance to the PDP in the middle of his term.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Ghulam Muhammad won from Barsu constituency defeating both Congress and BJP candidates. NC’s Manzoorul Hussain, a first-time candidate, defeated former two-time chief executive councilor Kachu Ahmad Ali Khan in Urbaltic.
In Baru, central Kargil, Congress’ Khadim Hussain defeated NC district president Muhammad Hanifa Jan and three independent candidates. NC candidate Muhammad Abbas Adulpa won from Kargil Town constituency, party’s Muhammad Amin defeated BJP election in-charge Haji Inayat Ali by 360 votes.
LAHDC is the governing body for all development needs of the district and is headed by a Chief Executive Councilor and four Executive Councilors who oversee the functions of various government departments along with Secretaries to the UT Administration.
Leaders across party lines said control of the hill council “from control at the center through the LG (Lieutenant Governor) administration” was necessary to protect the interests of the region.
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On the streets of Kargil, young voters said their biggest challenge in the past four years has been the lack of jobs they had access to when Ladakh was part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. With a majority tribal population, people from the Ladakh region were able to get jobs under ST reservation in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The problem of running out of budget every year due to the limited working season was also a concern among voters.
Along with the availability of drinking water, the issue of land irrigation was also a major factor in this election. However, with Ladakh cut off from Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country for at least three months in winter, the people of the region are also hoping for the completion of the Zojila tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity to Ladakh. Hope to do. .