Stage set for LAHDC-Kargil polls today

Kargil, Oct 3: Stage is set for Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil polls tomorrow. All arrangements have been made for the polling.

The polling is taking place after a number of developments and nearly a month of high-octane campaigning. It is now over to the voters to decide the electoral fate of the candidates in the fray..

Elaborate arrangements have been put in place for the first democratic exercise in Kargil district since 2019, post granting of Union territory status to the Ladakh region. Election campaigning for LAHDC-Kargil which ended on Monday, witnessed a high decibel campaign resembling an assembly or parliamentary election with top leaders from different local and national parties participating in the electioneering. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used for the first time for the hill council elections. The polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm and the counting of votes will take place on October 8 and the new council will be formed by October 11.

There are a total 85 contesting candidates in fray for the 26 hill development council constituencies. An official told Greater Kashmir that 85 contesting candidates are in fray. He said that out of 85 candidates, 25 are independent candidates, 17 from BJP, 22 from INC, 17 from NC and four candidates from AAP. He said that there are 278 polling stations set up in the district. “ All the preparations are done for a smooth and fair elections “ the official told Greater Kashmir.

 In a significant political development, the two prominent political parties including National Conference (NC) and Indian National Congress (INC), have joined hands for the LAHDC Kargil general elections. The two parties NC and INC have come together and announced a pre-poll alliance ahead of the LAHDC Kargil general elections. Both NC and INC are also part of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) an amalgam of political, social, religious and trade organisations seeking statehood for Ladakh, constitutional safeguards under sixth schedule and separate parliamentary seats for Leh and Kargil. On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will go alone in the hill council elections.

 In 2018 elections BJP had won only one seat. The previous LAHDC Kargil was headed by NC leader Feroz Ahmed Khan. Political observers say that the contest is seen between the NC-Congress alliance and BJP. Notably, the autonomous hill councils in both Kargil and Leh districts are key to local governance and development. Still, since the change in the status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the locals have claimed that the council has lost most of its powers to the UT 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 thirty members, of which 26 are directly elected. The four remaining seats are nominated.

According to election officials, there are over 95,000 voters, including 46,762 women, who are eligible to exercise their franchise on Wednesday. The officials said 278 polling stations have been set up across the Kargil district. “EVMs and statutory material distribution for elections were dispatched to respective constituencies,” an official said on Tuesday. Security has been beefed up across the district to ensure peaceful polls. The police, along with the central armed police force, have been conducting patrolling in various constituencies for smooth polls.