Nearly 78% turnout recorded in Kargil Council polls

Since Article 370 was abrogated, elections had not been held in Ladakh. Since Ladakh was separated from Jammu and Kashmir to become a union territory in August 2019, the hill council election in Kargil was the first local election held there.

Srinagar (J&K):Voting for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil came to a close on Wednesday with a turnout of nearly 78 per cent (77.71%).

Since Article 370 was abrogated, elections had not been held in Ladakh. Since Ladakh was separated from Jammu and Kashmir to become a union territory in August 2019, the hill council election in Kargil was the first local election held there.

"There are 278 polling stations in the region. Elections were held in a free and fair manner thanks to preparations," Deputy Commissioner for Kargil Shrikant Balasaheb Suse said, adding that "out of the 278 voting places, 114 were hyper-sensitive and 99 were sensitive". He further said, "I along with SSP Kargil, ADC Kargil and concerned officers reviewed the arrangements for the collection of sensitive material at a strong room located at Polytechnic College Kargil."

At polling stations, queues were seen as early as eight in the morning, with many elderly voters casting their ballots first. The new council will be in place by October 11 after the vote counting, which is slated for October 8. On October 1, the current council led by Feroz Ahmad Khan of the National Conference completed its five-year tenure.

Election officials said that 95,388 people were eligible to vote, and they used their right to vote to choose 85 candidates for 26 seats on the Hill Council, which has 30 members. Four councillors with voting rights are being nominated by the administration. Despite announcing a pre-election partnership, the National Conference and Congress have fielded 17 and 22 candidates, respectively. According to both parties, the agreement is only in place in regions where the BJP is a formidable opponent.

This time around, the BJP has put out 17 candidates. The party had won one seat in the election and later increased its total to three after joining forces with two PDP council members. According to the authorities, 25 independent candidates are running alongside the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for four seats.