Srinagar|Oct,8 : The counting of votes for the fifth general elections to 26 seats of the 30-member Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and Kargil, is underway amid tight security. The Congress has bagged seven seats, followed by National Conference (NC) five and BJP two, reports reaching here said.
“District administration has made good security agreement. we are hoping that our candidate will win”reporters quoted candidates as saying so.
“Security put on high alert around the counting centre to conduct smooth counting. Candidates of several parties also come to the counting centre for results,” an official said.
The voting for the fifth LAHDC Kargil election was held on October 4, 2023 and a total of 77.61% of voters exercised their franchise through EVMs to decide the fate of 85 candidates who were in the fray.
An electorate of 74,026 including 46,762 women, entitled to exercise their franchise in 278 polling stations spread over 26 constituencies across the Kargil.
The LAHDC Kargil election 2023 was the first local poll in Ladakh since it split from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 to become a union territory after Article 370 was abrogated. The new council is scheduled to be in place before October 11.
In September, the Ladakh administration announced a new schedule for elections to the fifth LAHDC in the Kargil region, after a directive issued by the Supreme Court.
The Ladakh administration notification came after the apex court restored the party symbol of National Conference for the upcoming election, and set aside the previous election notification since candidates of NC had not been able to file the nominations.