Voting is underway for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections in Kargil, the first key polls to be held in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 which gave a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The polling is being conducted amid tight security and police arrangements have been made to carry out free and fair elections. Out of the 278 stations, 114 are hyper-sensitive and 99 are sensitive polling stations. Police deployments have been done accordingly, Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, Dy Commissioner, Kargil has said.
The campaigning for the first major elections ended on Monday. The election is going to witness a triangular contest in most of the 26 seats, news agency PTI reported.
The counting of votes is scheduled for October 8 and the new council will be in place before October 11. The existing council headed by National Conference’s Feroz Ahmad Khan completed its five-year term on October 1.
A total of 95,388 voters including 46,762 women are eligible to exercise their franchise from 8 am to 4 pm on Wednesday to decide the electoral fate of 85 candidates in 26 seats of the 30-member Hill Council, election officials told the news agency.
Four councillors with voting rights are being nominated by the administration.
NC-Congress Alliance
While the National Conference and Congress stitched a pre-poll alliance, both parties put up 17 and 22 candidates, respectively saying that the arrangement was restricted to areas where there was a tough contest with the BJP.
BJP, which won one seat in the last election and later took its tally to three with the joining of two PDP councillors, has fielded 17 candidates this time.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying its luck from four seats while 25 independents are also in the fray, the officials told PTI.
In an official order issued on Sunday, election authority and Deputy Commissioner Shrikant Balasaheb Suse directed a total prohibition on holding public meetings and processions during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll.
Suse also banned exit polls in the district till the conclusion of the poll and warned of action as per law against anyone contravening the directions.
The elections to LAHDC-Kargil were rescheduled from September 10 to October 4 on the directions of the Supreme Court which took serious note of the UT administration denying the “plough” symbol to National Conference candidates.
The Supreme Court dismissed the Ladakh administration’s plea on the issue and also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on it, holding that the National Conference was entitled to its symbol.