VoL Desk, Oct. 08: The National Conference and the Congress together won 22 seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil election, officials announced today. The election to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil was the first poll to be held after Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

Twenty-six seats of the council went to polls on October 4. According to the officials, the National Conference (NC) won 12 seats, making it the single largest party, while its ally Congress registered victory in 10. The BJP won two seats, while two Independent candidates also registered victory, they said.

The National Conference candidates who won the election are Abdul Wahid (Bhimbat), Punchok Tashi (Padum), Mansoor Hussain (Yurbaltak), Mohd Abass (Kargil Town), Dr Mohd Jaffar (Thasgam Thuvina), Feroz Ahmad Khan (Silmo), Mohd Amin (Poyen), Ashiq Ali Ferdous (Thangdumbur), Ghulam Haider (Lankerchay), Sajjad Khan (Saliskote), Agha Syed Mujtaba (Trespone), and Mohd Altaf (Chuliskamboo).

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The winning candidates of Congress are Abdul Samad (Ranbirpura), Abdul Hadi (Taisuru), Kacho Mohd Feroz (Pashkum), Nasir Hussain Munshi (Choskore), Liyaqat Ali (Chiktan), Syed Ainul Huda (Parkachik), Khadim Hussain (Baroo), Zakir Hussain (Shakar), Stanzin Jigmet (Karsha), and Mohd Jawad (Shargole).

The two winning candidates from BJP are Padma Dorjay (Khangral) and Stanzin Lakpa (Cha). The winning independent candidates are Ghulam Mohd (Barsoo) and Agha Syed Ali (GM Pore).

The voting was held on October 4 for 26 seats. The council has 30 seats out of which elections were held on 26 seats, while four councillors with voting rights are nominated by the administration.

The counting started at 8:00 am on Sunday morning. The Election Commission officials made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the counting of votes and the declaration of the results. Heavy security arrangements have been made at and around the Government Polytechnic College where the counting of the votes held.

Earlier, 77.61 per cent voter turnout was reported in the UT as out of the total 95,388 voters, 74,026 exercised their right of franchise. The existing council headed by National Conference’s Feroz Ahmad Khan completed its five-year term on October 1. The new council will be in place before October 11.

The NC and Congress had announced a pre-poll alliance but have put up 17 and 22 candidates, respectively. Both parties said the arrangement was restricted to areas where there was a tough contest with the BJP. The BJP, which won one seat in the last election fielded 17 candidates this time.  The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tried its luck from 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 elections to LAHDC-Kargil was 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 NC candidates. Holding that the NC was entitled to its symbol, the Supreme Court dismissed the Ladakh administration’s plea on the issue and also imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on it.

Though the extended campaigning in the district remained a low-key affair, NC vice president and former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah addressed two election rallies at Drass and Kargil.