22 seats in kitty, Congress-NC alliance sweeps Kargil polls

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, October 8

The alliance of the Congress and the National Conference (NC) comfortably won the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, elections on Sunday. These were the first LAHDC polls held since the abrogation of Article 370. The BJP, which had sent senior leaders for electioneering, lost as it could secure only two seats out of the 26. The LAHDC-Kargil has 30 seats of which four are nominated.

The counting of votes started at around 8 am on Sunday. The Congress-National Conference alliance maintained the lead since beginning and its supporters erupted into celebration a little later. By late evening, the NC bagged 12 seats while the Congress succeeded on 10 seats. The BJP and independents bagged two seats each.

The NC fielded 17 candidates and the Congress 22. The parties claimed that the alliance was to defeat the BJP in Kargil. The elections in Muslim-dominated Kargil had witnessed a turnout of 77.61% on Wednesday.

The NC and the Congress had raised the issue of Sixth Schedule which both the districts – Leh and Kargil – have been demanding to safeguard their land and culture for long.

While the BJP had won only one seat in 2018, it was expecting much more due to which its senior leaders had camped in the district for days.

Congress’ J&K ex-president Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the verdict manifested the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

BJP candidate Padma Dorjey won from Stakchay Khangral constituency with a margin of 177 votes. He received 1,007 votes, followed by Syed Hassan of the Congress who polled 830 votes and Ghulam Hussain of the NC with 479 votes. A total of 2,656 votes were cast in the constituency.

Another BJP candidate, Stanzin Lakpa, won from Cha constituency with a margin of 234 votes. He received 798 votes, followed by Tenzin Sonam (564 votes) of the Congress.

While the BJP had given tickets to a significant number of Muslim candidates, the two candidates who won come from Buddhist community.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti stated it was heartening to see “secular parties” winning in in Kargil. “It is the first election post 2019 and the people of Ladakh have spoken,” she added. NC leader Omar Abdullah stated, “This sends 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. The results should serve as a wake-up call for the BJP.”

Wake-up call: Omar

• NC leader Omar Abdullah says the results should serve as a wake-up call for the BJP. It sends a message to those who have divided Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, he adds.
• Congress’ J&K ex-chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir says the verdict shows the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
• The seats which went to the BJP are Stakchay Khangral, won by Padma Dorjey, and Cha, bagged by Stanzin Lakpa.