Ladakh Election Department announces schedule for Kargil Hill Council polls

Ladakh Election Department announces schedule for Kargil Hill Council polls

Voting on September 10; MCC comes into effect

Mubashir Alam

Srinagar, Aug 05 (KNO): The Election Department of Ladakh Union Territory on Friday released election schedule for Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil which will witness a direct contest between National Conference-Congress alliance and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

According to a notification issued by the UT’s Election Department, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the polling will take place on September 10.

The LAHDC- Kargil has 30 members, of which 26 are elected by people through voting and four are nominated by the UT’s administration.

As per the schedule, candidates can file nomination papers from August 16 while August 23 has been marked as the last date for filing nomination forms.

The scrutiny of nominations will take place on August 24, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is August 26.

While the polling will take place on September 10, the counting has been scheduled on September 14.

With announcement of the poll schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force in entire Kargil district.

“The Model Code of Conduct shall come into force from the date of publication of this notification in the official e-gazette of UT Ladakh and shall remain in force till such time the election process is completed. The code of conduct shall be applicable for the entire Kargil District,” reads the notification.

On July 18, National Conference and Congress announced a pre-poll alliance for the elections.

Both the parties said they have joined hands to keep BJP at bay. The BJP is desperately trying to gain foothold in the region.

In the last elections, National Conference emerged as the single largest party, winning ten seats, closely followed by the Congress which bagged eight seats. BJP had won one seat while its then ally PDP bagged two seats. Five seats were bagged by independents—(KNO)