In the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil election, the National Conference and Congress combined gained 22 seats, according to officials.
Ladakh was divided into a Union Territory when Article 370 of the Constitution was repealed, and the election to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil was the first election to be held.
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.
According to the officials, National Conference (NC) won 12 seats, making it the single largest party, while its ally Congress registered victory in 10. BJP won two seats, while two Independent candidates also registered victory, they said.
77.61% of voters cast ballots in the election. On October 1, the current council, led by NC member Feroz Ahmad Khan, finished its five-year term. Prior to October 11, the new council will be in place. Despite announcing a pre-election cooperation, NC and Congress only put out 17 and 22 candidates, respectively. They had claimed that the arrangement was only applicable to regions where the BJP faced a formidable opponent.
BJP, which won one seat in the last election and later took its tally to three with the joining of two PDP councillors, had fielded 17 candidates this time. Aam Aadmi Party tried its luck on four seats while 25 Independents were also in the fray.