77.62% voter turnout in LAHDC-Kargil election

Kargil: Polling for the 5th Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil was held on Wednesday to elect 26 new councilors for LAHDC-Kargil and at the end of the day, 77.62 percent voter turnout was recorded.

This was the first election in Kargil after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir state into J&K Union Territory and Ladakh Union Territory.

The polling started at 8 am with voters turning to cast their votes at all the polling stations across the Kargil district and surrounding villages.

The polling ended at 4 pm.

EVMs were for the first time used in the LAHDC-Kargil elections so that no voter was left behind.

Women and youth turned out in large numbers at most polling booths. As per the officials, a total of 77.62 percent of voters exercised their franchise to decide the fate of 85 candidates who are in the fray.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kargil Shrikant Balasaheb Suse who is also the district election authority told Greater Kashmir that the election for 5th LAHDC-Kargil concluded peacefully and smoothly.

As per the officials, the Saliskote constituency recorded the highest 90.7 percent of polling while the Padum Zanskar constituency witnessed the lowest 69.03 percent voting.

The poll percentage was comparatively higher than the previous LAHDC elections in 2018.

In 2018, the LAHDC-Kargil elections witnessed 70 percent polling.

Long queues of voters were seen outside the polling stations waiting for their turn to cast their votes.

The authorities had made elaborate arrangements to ensure a peaceful and smooth election process.

DIG Ladakh Police Sheikh Junaid, DC Kargil Srikant Balasaheb Suse, SSP Kargil Anayat Ali Chowdhury, and ADC Kargil Ghulam Mohidine visited various polling stations across the district to check the smooth conduct of the election process.

Socio-political activist Sajjad Kargili said that the main focus of this election was that they voted for development with dignity and identity. Another voter said that they were left with only this option to choose their representative as they do not have any assembly, adding that this would provide them with an opportunity to send a message about what they want.

An elderly voter at Chiktan polling station said that they had many issues and they were casting their vote to get these issues redressal.

Many voters said that they are giving young faces a chance to represent them and serve in a better way.

Of the 85 candidates in the fray, 25 are independent, 17 are from BJP, 22 from Congress, 17 from National Conference (NC) and four are from AAP.

A total of 278 polling stations were set up in the district.

NC and Congress had come together and announced a pre-poll alliance for LAHDC Kargil elections.

Both NC and Congress are also part of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), an amalgam of political, social, religious, and trade organisations seeking statehood for Ladakh, constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, and separate parliamentary seats for Leh and Kargil.

 On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gone alone in the hill council elections and sought votes for development post-2019 in Kargil.

In the 2018 elections, BJP won only one seat.

The previous LAHDC Kargil was headed by NC leader Feroz Ahmed Khan.

Political observers said that the contest was seen to be between the NC-Congress alliance and the BJP.

The autonomous hill councils in both the Kargil and Leh districts are key to local governance and development.

Since the change in the status of the erstwhile state of J&K, the locals have claimed that the council had lost most of its powers to the Union territory administration.

The first hill council was formed in 1995 for the Leh division and later in Kargil in 2003, where the last council polls were held in 2018.

The councils are elected for a term of five years.

The council has 30 members of which 26 are elected directly.

The four remaining seats are nominated.

A Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) with a portfolio equivalent to a cabinet minister leads the council with an executive committee of five members.