Srinagar : In the latest developments from Srinagar on October 8th, the National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance have achieved a decisive victory in the 5th general elections of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). The NC emerged as the single largest party, securing 11 seats, while the Congress secured 8 seats. Of the 30-member council, results for 24 seats have been declared, with counting still ongoing for the remaining seats, according to officials.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to secure two seats, while three independent candidates were also declared victorious in the elections. However, the Aam Aadmi Party failed to secure any seats in the LAHDC-K Council.
Among the notable victories, NC candidate Abdul Wahid won from the Bhimbhat Constituency with a narrow margin of 52 votes, Punchok Tashi secured a win from the Padum Constituency with a margin of 54 votes, and Manzoor Ul Husain emerged victorious from the Yourbaltak Constituency with a margin of 90 votes.
Meanwhile, Congress candidate Abdul Hadi won the Tai-Suru Constituency with a margin of 261 votes, and Abdul Samad secured victory from the Ranbirpora-Drass Constituency with a margin of 575 votes.
In a closely contested race, BJP candidate Padma Dorjey emerged as the winner in the Stakchay Khangral Constituency, defeating Syed Hassan of Congress and Ghulam Hussain of NC with a margin of 177 votes.
It’s worth noting that these elections mark the first-ever civic elections in the Kargil district since Ladakh became a separate Union Territory on August 5, 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370. In this election, the BJP faced a united opposition consisting of the Congress and National Conference on 26 out of the 30 council seats. A total of 85 candidates participated in the polls, with 22 representing Congress, 17 from the NC, 17 from the BJP, four from the Aam Aadmi Party, and 24 running as independent candidates.
