The National Conference and Congress alliance on Sunday swept Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil elections, winning 22 out of 26 seats.

The NC bagged 12 seats and its ally Congress got 10 seats while the BJP and Independent candidates won two seats each after the results were announced for 26 seats.

In the 30-member LAHDC, four members were nominated by the administration while the elections for 26 seats took place on October 4. The NC and Congress had announced a pre-poll alliance but fielded 17 and 22 candidates, respectively.

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The BJP, which won one seat in the last election and later took its tally to three with the joining of two PDP councillors, had fielded 17 candidates this time. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tried its luck on four seats while 25 Independents were also in the fray. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used for the first time for the council elections which took place at 278 polling stations across the district.

The counting took place on Sunday for the first key election in Kargil after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and the creation of the Ladakh Union territory. The new council is scheduled to be put in place before October 11.

The election recorded a 77.61 per cent voter turnout with 74,026 of the 95,388 voters exercising their right. The existing council headed by the NC’s Feroz Ahmad Khan completed its five-year term on October 1.

Also Read: LAHDC-Kargil elections 2023: Congress-NC alliance wins 17 seats, counting underway

Congress says ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ impact

Taking to X, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said that their party ‘registered a resounding victory in the Ladakh-Kargil Autonomous Hill Council elections after 10 years’.

He congratulated all the candidates and expressed his confidence that they this will usher a new democratic dawn in Ladakh and Kargil.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also took a swipe at the media saying “the national media will blank it out, but trends coming in show Congress leading convincingly in the elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil with an almost complete wipeout of the BJP.”

“This is a direct impact of Rahul Gandhi continuing Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ladakh last month,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

Ladakh Council polls are being seen as a litmus test for the BJP after scrapping Article 370.