Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 8: As exclusively reported by the Excelsior, the Government today announced schedule for elections to 26 seats of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Develo-pment Council (LAHDC), Leh, the elections for which will be held on October 17.
Tsering Morup, Secretary, Ladakh Affairs Department in the Government told the Excelsior that the Government today issued notification vide SRO 305 for holding elections to all 26 seats of LAHDC Leh on October 17.
Morup said the candidate can file nomination papers before the Deputy Commissioner, Leh, who has been appointed as the Election Authority, or any other officer designated by the DC for the task from September 22 to 29. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on September 30 while last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is October 2.
Polling will be held on October 17 and counting on October 23. Entire process of elections will be completed before October 28.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 4 pm.
The new Council can take over any time before first week of November. In addition to 26 elected members, the Government has the provision of nominating four members to the Council taking its total strength to 30. In LAHDC Kargil elections last year, the nomination of four National Conference members had tilted balance in favour of the party but it had allowed the Congress to form the Council. However, after the Assembly elections, the NC had passed no confidence motion against the Congress and formed its Council.
In the present Council in Leh headed by veteran Congress leader Rigzin Spalbar, Congress has 21 elected members, BJP 4 and Independent one. Four members are nominated. The Congress had 22 members but it had expelled one of them Tsewang Rigzin after last year’s Assembly elections as he had contested the elections against official Congress candidate Deldan Namgayal from Nobra.
While Congress is riding high on the wave of Assembly elections in which it had won both Assembly seats of Leh, the BJP was boasting of having won Ladakh Lok Sabha seat for the first time in the history in last Parliamentary elections. Even in the last year’s Assembly elections though the BJP lost both Leh and Nobra Assembly seats in Leh district, its candidates had secured handsome votes.
All parties were expected to go it alone in the elections. However, the major fight will remain confined to Congress, BJP and Independents.
As far as NC and PDP are concerned, they have very little stakes in the Council elections. The NC and PDP hadn’t even contested Leh Assembly seat in the last year’s elections.
With completion of its term in October, the LAHDC, Leh will complete 20 years of its existence. It was constituted first in 1995 after an agreement between the then Congress Government in New Delhi headed by PV Narsimha Rao and representatives of Leh, who had spearheaded agitation for Union Territory status to Ladakh.
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