Leh, October 26: Out of the 26 seats of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections contested last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been declared winner in 15 seats. After the counting of vote was completed, the Congress ended up securing 9 wins -- higher than the initial estimate of 2-4. 'China Has no Locus Standi to Comment on India's Internal Matter', MEA Hits Back at Beijing For Calling Ladakh's UT Status Illegal.

Congress, which was the dominant party in the autonomous body till the last polls, saw its seat-count shrink in this election. Two independent candidates also won the polls.

The constituencies from where the BJP candidates won are  Diskit, Turtuk, Tegar, Panamik and Hundar -- all five located in Nubra region. Apart from these, party also bagged victories in Tangtse, Kurzok and Martselong seats.

The Congress candidates have been declared winners from crucial Igoo and Sakti seats, whereas, two Independents have claimed victories in Chushul and Nyoma.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was also contesting in the local body polls in Ladakh, failed to open its account. None of the party candidates succeeded to emerge as runner-ups.

The voting in LAHDC elections was conducted on October 23, with the Election Commission recording a turnout of 65.07 percent. A total of 94 candidates were in fray for the 26 council seats. The aspirants included 23 independents, apart from the candidates of the Congress, BJP and the AAP. This was the first polling exercise in Ladakh since the abrogation of Article 370 last year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 26, 2020 03:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).