Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 22: Fate of BJP and Congress will be decided today as counting for 26 seats of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh will be taken up tomorrow at the Government Degree College, Leh and completed by around 5 pm.
The BJP-PDP Alliance is stand to gain in view of being the ruling party as it will have advantage of nominating Four Councilors to the LAHDC Leh with voting rights and get majority even if it wins 12 seats out of a total of 26 seats for which the election has been held.
Official sources told the Excelsior that total seats required for majority in the Council is 16 in the House of 30. Election is held for 26 seats only while four Councilors are nominated by the Government with voting rights in the House. As PDP-BJP were ruling the State, they will nominate the four Councilors owing affiliation to the two parties. This way, even if BJP-PDP win 12 seats out of 26 for which the election was held on October 17, they will, for the first time, form the Council in important district of Leh.
On the other, the Congress, which used to gain earlier from nomination of four Councilors as it was partner in the Government for past 12 years, would have to win 16 seats from 26 to gain the majority, sources said.
Though in the outgoing Council, Congress had won 22 and BJP four seats, the Congress never objected to nomination of four Councilors with voting rights as the party was in Government with National Conference. The party created uproar only when the National Conference unilaterally nominated its four leaders to the LAHDC Kargil in October 2013 to tamper the mandate, which had gone in favour of the Congress. However, on the intervention of National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah, the Congress had then formed the Council despite being in minority but after the NC-Congress coalition lost the power, the NC regained the Council by passing no confidence motion against the Congress.
This is fifth election to the LAHDC Leh. Of previous four elections, starting from 1995, Congress had won three while Leh Union Territory Front (LUTF) had formed the Council once. The BJP had never been in power in the LAHDC Leh.
BJP State unit president Jugal Kishore Sharma accompanied by MLA Sat Sharma CA will reach Leh on Friday to monitor arrangements for Council formation by the BJP as the party was confident that it would be able to get majority. Moreover, the BJP would like to keep its flock together and garner support of Independents, if some of them win the elections.
Though the BJP and PDP had contested elections separately, the parties would come together for formation of the Council as they were Alliance partners in the State Government. Similarly, sources said, if the Congress was close to majority, it could be backed by the NC, if the latter wins any seat in Leh.
BJP and Congress had contested 25 seats each while PDP and NC had fought elections on eight seats each. Newly floated New Ladakh Movement (NLM), which had fielded candidates on 17 seats, is also hoping to do well in the elections. A total of 90 contestants were in fray for the elections to 26 seats.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Prasanna Ramaswamy, the Election Authority for the LAHDC Leh, told the Excelsior that counting will be held in two phases to ensure that it was held completely in free, fair and smooth manner.
“We will start the counting for 13 seats (No. 16 to 26 i.e. Leh and surroundings) in the first phased at 8 am, which was likely to be completed around 12 noon. The second phase (i.e. from 1-13 seats) will be taken up from 1 pm onwards and will be completed between 4 pm. Counting of all seats will be over by 5 pm,” he said.
Authorities have deployed two Supervisors and four Counting Agents for one segment each. In addition to this, Magistrates have also been deployed in the town. Adequate number of para-military forces and police were deployed in town and outskirts to ensure peace during counting and victory processions.
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