Amid protests in Leh against the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections scheduled for December 4, the Ladakh administration has imposed 60-day movement restrictions on climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.
“In terms of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, restrictions were imposed on Sonam Wangchuk on his movement and direct him to refrain from engaging in any activity, organising or participating in any unauthorised rally, procession or public gathering, or any conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace, disturbance of public tranquillity or obstruction to the peaceful conduct of the ongoing electoral processes within the territorial jurisdiction of Leh district. This order shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force for a period of 60 days,” reads the order issued by the additional district magistrate, Leh.
The action came on Wednesday evening, when Ladakh Police removed Wangchuk from a protest site in Leh and escorted him to his residence. He was advised to remain indoors in compliance with prohibitory orders issued by the chief electoral officer, UT Ladakh, and the district magistrate, Leh, ahead of the elections.
Meanwhile, protesting the holding of the LAHDC and panchayat polls during winter, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) held a demonstration in Leh on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, protesting the holding of the LAHDC and panchayat polls during winter, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) held a demonstration in Leh on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}The LAB had decided to stage a peaceful protest at Martyrs Park against the election schedule. Heavy security was deployed across Leh since morning, as the administration had already banned any protests within the municipal limits of the town. In a statement, the apex body said that despite the restrictions, the peaceful protest was successfully held in Ladakh today.
“Despite the heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel and restrictions on organising protests within the municipal limits of Leh and Kargil during the model code of conduct, people from all walks of life across Ladakh participated in large numbers in the peaceful dharna,” the LAB said in a statement, adding that the massive public participation reflects people’s continued faith in the apex body and their commitment to the cause of Ladakh.
“Thursday’s protest has send a clear message to the administration that the people of Ladakh believe in peaceful and democratic means of protest and remain determined to raise their legitimate demands while exercising their constitutional right to protest, as guaranteed by the Constitution of India.”
The LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on Wednesday had made a video appeal to the President, Prime Minister, Union home minister, and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to defer December 4 elections to the LAHDC.
Ladakh MP Haneefa Jan also wrote a letter to the Union home minister Amit Shah seeking the postponement of the polls. He said that with a harsh winter approaching, senior citizens have already started migrating to warmer regions, while thousands of students will leave by late November and early December for education and coaching.
Several rounds of talks with the Union home ministry have failed to break the deadlock since September 24, 2025, when protests in Leh turned violent and protesters clashed with police. Four people were killed and more than 80 injured. The two groups want the council polls to be postponed until after winter and the new seat map—formed after a delimitation exercise—to be reviewed.
Ladakh chief secretary Ashish Kundra on Tuesday said that the council polls were a step towards deepening democracy, and would be a “turning point in the larger journey of democracy”. He said that an apex-level body, a representative body for the UT, was “also taking shape”.
The hill councils are elected district bodies set up under a 1997 law of the Jammu and Kashmir legislature. The law provided for a council in each of Ladakh’s two districts at the time, Leh and Kargil, with 26 elected members each.
In April this year the administration created five new districts, carving Nubra, Sham and Changthang out of Leh, and Zanskar and Drass out of Kargil. Sankoo is the eighth.
In October, the Centre changed the 1997 law through a presidential regulation to give every district a council. The eight councils have 100 elected seats in all, against 52 before. Leh has 22 and Kargil 21, while the six new councils have between seven and 13.
Nominations close on November 17, and polling runs from 8am to 5pm on December 4. Ladakh also votes on November 21 for panchayats, or village councils, and for the Leh and Kargil municipal committees. The last panchayat polls in Ladakh were held in 2018, while LAHDC polls were held in 2023.