Ladakh council polls schedule announced; voting on October 16

Notwithstanding opposition demands for postponement of polls due to prevailing tension on borders and spike in Covid-19 cases, authorities in Ladakh Union Territory (UT) Saturday announced the schedule for Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LADHC) polls.

In a notification issued by Saugat Biswas, Secretary Election department, the voting will take place on October 16 in 26 constituencies of the Council.

Earlier, representatives of several opposition parties had advised for the postponement of elections in view of the escalating tension along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh and growing Covid-19 positive cases in the cold desert region.

With the announcement of the poll dates, the district magistrate Leh issued an order for imposition of model code of conduct in the district and directed all the political parties and independent candidates to follow the guidelines for the smooth conduct of the exercise.

In the 30-member LAHDC, 26 members are elected while four are nominated, with no voting rights. In current dispensation, BJP has 18 elected representatives, Congress has five, National Conference has two, while one member is an independent.

The Hill Council in Leh was created under LAHDC Act in 1995 and later another Hill Council in neighboring Kargil was formed in 2003. Elections to the LAHDC, Kargil, were held last year. It is currently governed by the National Conference.

The LAHDC, Leh election, will be the first electoral exercise in the erstwhile state of J&K of which Ladakh was also a part. On August 5, 2019, Ladakh was declared a Union Territory without legislature. The main contest is likely to be between the BJP and Congress as the NC and PDP have stopped functioning in Leh post August 5, 2019.