LAHDC-Kargil poll results 'referendum' against abrogation of Article 370: NC-Congress alliance

Kargil (Ladakh): The National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance on Monday dubbed the LAHDC-Kargil poll results as a “referendum” against the Centre’s decision of abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.

The NC and the Congress together won 22 of 26 seats in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil elections, the results of which were declared on Sunday.

The election was the first poll to be held after Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

“This is definitely a referendum, the people of Kargil fought on this issue… Our first demand is the restoration of the democratic system in Ladakh. It is up to the government how they will do that – whether they will give a full-fledged statehood to Ladakh, and if they cannot do that, then restore our position (with Jammu-Kashmir),” NC district president, Kargil, Hanifa Jan, told PTI.

Jan said the people of Kargil want to get out of the “bureaucratic slavery” under the lieutenant governor’s administration.

“What the Government of India did was totally wrong, it was a betrayal with us, they took the decision without consulting us. So, this result is a total referendum against those decisions,” the NC leader said.

“The alliance won 22 seats, two were won by independents who are ideologically inclined towards us. The BJP won two, one of which they won because of our negligence. So, we won 24 seats effectively, and the whole district has spoken against the decisions taken in August 2019 and snatching of democracy from us and pushing us into the bureaucratic system,” he added.

Senior Congress leader Issa Ali Shah said the people of Kargil have always been against the decision of abrogation of Article 370 and the results signified that.

“There is no role of the BJP in Kargil. People here are against the decision of the August 2019. The common people do not want separation. We want to be together with Jammu-Kashmir,” he said.

Asked about the future prospects of the alliance, the NC leader said the coalition was not for the council only, but to keep whole Kargil united.

“This alliance will be there for the Parliament elections as well. We want a secular candidate to contest the elections and win, because the current MP is a total communal person who is only parroting the agenda of the BJP-RSS and is doing nothing for the people of Ladakh,” he said.

Twenty-six seats of the council went to polls on October 4. The administration nominates four members with voting rights to the 30-member council.

The NC won 12 seats, making it the single-largest party, while its ally Congress registered victory in 10 seats. The BJP won two seats, while two independent candidates also emerged victorious.

The NC and the Congress had announced a pre-poll alliance but fielded 17 and 22 candidates, respectively. Both the parties said the arrangement was restricted to areas where there was a tough contest with the BJP.