| Ladakh gears up for multi-tier polls: Elections to 8 LAHDCs, Panchayats, ULBs announced | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 10: Amid some parts of the Union Territory observing a shutdown in response to the call given by the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), the Ladakh administration on Tuesday announced the schedule for the elections of eight Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs).
Apart from LAHDCs, authorities also announced elections for Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies in the Union Territory.
Earlier, the Union Territory of Ladakh had two hill development councils of Leh and Kargil, and now elections will be held for eight councils on December 4.
The Chief Secretary, Union Territory of Ladakh, Ashish Kundra, announced the schedule for the forthcoming Panchayat, Municipal Council and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections.
The Chief Secretary informed that Panchayat elections and elections to the Leh and Kargil Municipal Councils will be held on November 21, as announced by the respective electoral authorities.
Elections to all eight LAHDCs, covering 100 constituencies across Ladakh, will be held on December 4. Following the creation of eight districts from the erstwhile two districts, the number of LAHDC constituencies has increased from 26 each in Leh and Kargil to 100 for whole Ladakh. The delimitation exercise was undertaken in accordance with the prescribed rules, taking into account population and the existing Panchayat Halqas and Municipal Wards.
As per the election schedule of LAHDCs, November 17, 2026 is the last date for filing nominations, November 18 for scrutiny and November 20 for withdrawal of candidature. The entire election process is scheduled to be completed before December 8.
Sharing the election figures, the Chief Secretary informed that out of 192 Panchayat Halqas, 55 Sarpanches have been elected unopposed, while elections will be held for the remaining 137 seats.
Similarly, 1186 Panch candidates have been elected unopposed out of 1428. In the Leh Municipal Council, elections will be held in all 21 wards, while four out of 17 wards in the Kargil Municipal Council have elected representatives unopposed.
He also highlighted that, for the first time, 36 out of the 100 LAHDC seats have been reserved for women, marking a significant step towards strengthening women’s representation in grassroots democratic institutions. |
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