NC-Congress sweep Kargil LAHDC elections, setback for BJP

The results of the 5th council elections are a setback to BJP as it had anticipated that the voters of Ladakh would give it a sweeping victory over Congress and National Conference after Ladakh which comprises of Kargil and Leh districts was carved out as a separate Union Territory from erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state on August 5, 2019. -- Reports ETV Bharat's Mir Farhat.

Srinagar:The National Conference and Congress Sunday swept the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Kargil) as they won 22 seats of the 30-member council while the ruling party BJP could not cross two.

The results of the 5th council elections are a setback to BJP as it had anticipated that the voters of Ladakh would give it a sweeping victory over Congress and National Conference after Ladakh which comprises of Kargil and Leh districts was carved out as a separate Union Territory from erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state on August 5, 2019.

In the results declared late Sunday evening, out of 25 seats, NC won 12, Congress 10, BJP 2 and Independents 2. The NC and Congress will form the council with NC winning candidate as its chairman. As many as 85 candidates were in the fray. Of them, Congress had fielded the highest number (22), followed by National Conference (17) and BJP (17), while 25 independents were also in the contest.

The council was ruled by the NC and Congress coalition as they had 10 and 8 elected members respectively. BJP had won one seat but later three elected members of PDP had left the party and joined BJP. NC's Feroz Ahmad Khan was the chairman of the council and he won the elections today. Kargil district in Ladakh is a Muslim-majority area with a minority Buddhist population scattered around the district.

Elections were held for the 26 members of the council on October 4. Out of 95388 voters, 74026 cast their votes. The council which has five-year term will start working from October 11 after taking the oath. Four members of the council are nominated by the L-G. Reacting to the victory, National Conference vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah said the result had sent a message to all forces and parties that have, undemocratically and unconstitutionally, divided the state of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh without the consent of its people.

"These election results should serve as a wake-up call for the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is time to cease hiding behind the Raj Bhawan and unelected representatives and, instead, acknowledge the people's rightful desire for a democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir. Democracy demands the voices of the people be heard and respected," he said.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said that the results are heartening as the people of Ladakh have voted for secular parties. "Heartening to see secular parties like NC & Congress register their victory in Kargil. It's the first election post-2019 & people of Ladakh have spoken," Mehbooba posted on X.

Communist leader and former legislator Yousuf Tarigami said the stellar performance of NC- INC in LAHDC-Kargil polls has exposed in no uncertain terms the BJP's 'false' narrative of development following the abrogation of Article 370 and split of J&K. "The people of Ladakh have already voiced their disconnect and displeasure over the policies of current dispensation towards the region," he said.

Political analysts say that the Kargil Hill Development Council election victory for NC and Congress is a setback to BJP as it had anticipated the people would vote for it after the cold desert was granted a UT status, but the defeat of the BJP is a resounding rejection of scrapping Article 370 and dividing Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir.

The people of the region are demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status with assembly and one more parliament seat for Kargil, and these demands were not fulfilled by the BJP government. The two districts of Kargil and Leh which are Muslim and Buddhist populated districts respectively formed an alliance-Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance -- the two groups representing Leh and Kargil districts push for their demands.

The Government of India even set up a 17-member committee headed by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Home Nityanand Rai.