Ladakh set for first panchayat polls since Union Territory formation in 2019
Ladakh is set for its first Panchayat elections since becoming a Union Territory.
State Election Commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey has released the schedule, with polling on November 21 and the process to conclude by November 30.
The UT has 193 Panchayats, 98 in the erstwhile Kargil district and 95 in erstwhile Leh, across its current eight districts.
“The Model Code of Conduct comes into force with immediate effect, which needs to be followed by all concerned scrupulously,’’ the SEC statement said.
The last general elections to Panchayat Halqas were held in November 2018, when Ladakh was part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
No panchayat elections have been conducted since the region became a separate Union Territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, making these the first such polls in the UT.
Meanwhile, the UT administration also dissolved the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, and announced 100 seats for all eight Hill Councils.
The Panchayats completed their five-year term in November 2023. Panchayat elections in Ladakh are being held three years late, while the polls have still not been held in Jammu and Kashmir.
The UT Ladakh administration also announced the number of seats for all eight Autonomous Hill Development Councils, with Leh getting a maximum of 22 seats and Drass a minimum of seven.
Kargil will have 21 seats, Sankoo 13, Changthang 10 and Nubra, Sham and Zanskar nine each.
The LAHDC Act amended recently mentioned that the Councils will have a minimum of seven seats and a maximum of 24.
Four Councillors will be nominated by the UT administration from among the women and unrepresented communities in the district, in every council.
The Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh remains committed to ensuring effective governance, administrative continuity and the strengthening of grassroots institutions in accordance with the applicable legal and administrative framework, an official statement said.
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