As the National Conference and Congress sweep Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil elections, held first time after the abrogation of Article 370, analysts say this is a huge win for I.N.I.D.A provided the national parties continue to keep a pulse on local politics.
“I think it is a massive victory and it also a rejection of political divineness and the politics of hatred, and I think one thing that national parties should learn from this win is that it is essential to keep all politics local,” says Prof Siddiq Wahid, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi and former Vice Chancellor of Islamic University, Kashmir. Prof Wahid says he expects this win would strengthen the alliance between the Kargil and Leh regions further.
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However, former ambassador and defence analyst P Stobdan took to social media to say, “It's now loud and clear that Kargil wants to reunite with the Valley, contradicting Leh's demand for separation since 1948.”
Political leaders like National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah said, “This result sends a message to all forces and parties that have, undemocratically and unconstitutionally, divided the state of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh without the consent of its people. This victory belongs to the people of Zanskar, Kargil, and Drass, who have decisively endorsed the National Conference-Congress alliance.”
In Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil NC won 12 out of 30 seats while Congress emerged victorious on 10 seats. The National Conference and Congress were contesting these polls as allied partners to keep the BJP away from power. Together the parties have now 22 seats.
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The BJP won only two seats and Independents bagged the rest of the two seats. The crucial elections for the Hill Council were held on October 4. The BJP’s chairman candidate for the LAHDC Kargil Haji Inayat Ali lost the election from the Poyen seat to National Conference. Four Councillors (having voting rights) to be nominated by the UT Government and they are presumed to be from the BJP will take the BJP tally to six.
While talking about the broader alliance with INDIA alliance, Omar says, “We also extend our gratitude to the leadership of the Congress party for their unwavering support. These election results should serve as a wake-up call for the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he adds.
Omar says the results have a message to the Lt Governors of J&K and called for polls in J&K. “It is time to cease hiding behind the Raj Bhawan and unelected representatives and, instead, acknowledge the people's rightful desire for a democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir. Democracy demands the voices of the people be heard and respected,” Omar says.
National Conference fought the Kargil elections on a political slogan saying the results would indicate the stand of people regarding the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcating erstwhile J&K state into two Union Territories.
Initially, the Leh region welcomed the abrogation of Article 370 and separate Union Territory for the Ladakh region. However, a year after the abrogation of Article 370, the political landscape of Leh changed and the region saw the formation of the Apex Body of Leh, a coalition of various political and religious parties of Leh. The Apex Body called for constitutional safeguards for the local population of the region under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. On September 3, 2021, the BJP-led LAHDC Leh passed a resolution seeking safeguards under Article 371 of the Constitution of India, the Sixth Schedule, or domicile laws to protect the tribal rights of the indigenous people of Ladakh. However, from day one Kargil has been against the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the statehood. It was only in January this year, since its formation in 2020, that the Kargil Democratic Alliance, an amalgam of different political and religious parties, jointly with Leh Apex Body presented a four-point demand, which includes statehood for Ladakh, constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, the formation of a Public Service Commission, and the creation of two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil.
