LAHDC polls: BJP wins 15 out of 26 seats, Cong gets 9
BJP won three seats less than last time while Congress won three more
Amid strong resentment over the sixth schedule and the anti-BJP wave, the saffron party managed to clinch 15 seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) polls, the results of which were declared on Monday evening.
Of the 26 constituencies, BJP won 15—three less than 2015. Congress took home nine seats —three more than last time, while two independent candidates won.
Resentment against the BJP could be gauged from the fact that the sitting chief executive councillor (CEC) Gyal P Wangyal could not retain his seat from Sakti constituency. It was wrested by Congress’ Rigzin Tsering with a thin margin of 20 votes from AAP’s Urgain Phuntsog.
On October 3, Wangyal had said, “People of Leh are in favour of the BJP . I am confident that the BJP will make a clean sweep”.
The Leh Council has 30 seats, of which four candidates are nominated.
‘A mandate against the BJP’
Former BJP minister and ex-president of BJP’s Ladakh unit Chering Dorjay said, “In my opinion, this is a mandate against the BJP. In 2015, they had won 18 seats and this time around they have won 15. There is strong resentment against the BJP. They have lost their strongholds, such as Upper Leh.Their CEC P Wangyal lost Sakti. Phyang and Temisgam constituencies also went to Congress.”
“Congress has improved its tally with nine seats and I think it was a big defeat for Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the BJP MP and party chief of Ladak. Though 14 seats are required to form the council and numbers are on the BJP’s side but denial of sixth schedule and Wangyal’s performance did not go down well with the people,” said Dorjay.
“The BJP has somehow succeeded in saving its skin. Had the people of Ladakh been happy with BJP, the party would have made a clean sweep,” he added.
P Wangyal was unavailable for comments. BJP’s Ghulam Mehdi won the Turtuk seat by defeating independent candidate Ghulam Hussain with a margin of 367 votes. BJP’s Kunzang Lotus won the Hundar seat by defeating Congress’ Stanzin Chotar with a margin of 420 votes.
The BJP managed to sweep all the five seats in Nubra valley, which has a significant Muslim population.
The BJP and Congress had fielded their candidates in all 26 constituencies while the Aam Aadmi Party fielded 19 candidates. As many as 23 independent candidates were also in the fray.
Leh demands sixth schedule
The people of Leh have been demanding constitutional safeguards under the sixth schedule and on September 28 former BJP minister and ex-president of the BJP’s Ladakh unit Chering Dorjay had cautioned the Centre of a sustained campaign in case the apex body was hoodwinked.
Apex body of the People’s Movement, an apolitical body, has been demanding constitutional safeguards under the sixth schedule of the constitution to Ladakh on the lines of north-eastern states.
The umbrella group includes political parties, religious organisations and the all-powerful Leh-based Ladakh Buddhist Association. The safeguards guarantee more teeth to the two hill development councils of Leh and Kargil with legislative powers. On home minister Amit Shah’s assurance,the delegation withdrew its call to boycott the polls.
Thupstan Chhewang, the former BJP MP, had resigned from his post and primary membership of the party in November 2018 as the BJP had not granted UT status to Ladakh and had not fulfilled other promises made by the BJP in the 2014 general elections.