The Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew its support to the National Conference in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, citing “failure of utilising development funds”.
The unexpected turn of events happened ahead of the next year’s elections. The two parties had cobbled together to form the Hill council that parallelly takes care of developmental matters.
The BJP pulling of the plug also means that Chief Executive Councillor Feroz Ahmad Khan-led Council would reel in crisis.
In a communique sent to Kargil administration, the BJP said seven of its councillors have withdrawn support to the National Conference.
The National Conference is now faced with the crisis to prove its majority on the floor of the house if it wants to stay in power. The opposition in Kargil and Kashmir Valley had often criticised the NC top brass for being “friends with BJP in Kargil and in Jammu and Kashmir”
BJP spokesperson in Ladakh Nilza Angmo Hashur said, in a statement, three elected councillors and four nominated members are taking back support to NC on the directions of Ladakh unit president Phunchok Stanzin.
Hashur cited the inability of the council to utilise welfare funds and hinted lack of accountability in the spendings.
The statement accused NC of indulging in “vendetta politics” and doing away with the work ethics of Hill Council.
The Hill Council in Kargil has 30 members, out of which, 26 are directly elected and four are appointed to represent women and minority communities. The council is led by a Chief Executive Councillor, who leads an executive committee of five members.
The autonomous hill councils work with village panchayats to take decisions on economic development, healthcare, education, land use, taxation, and local governance which are further reviewed at the block headquarters in the presence of the chief executive councillor and executive councillors.
The Ladakh Police continue to look after law and order while Administration of Ladakh looks after the judicial system, communications and the higher education in the districts.
In the Hill council elections held in 2018, out of 26 elected members of the LAHDC-Kargil, 10 came from the National Conference, eight from the Congress, three from the BJP and five (Independents). The Ladakh Union Territory administration nominated four members to the 30-member Council.
The 2018 elections to the Kargil Hill Council had produced a hung verdict. The NC initially had an alliance with the Congress. The PDP had two councillors and the BJP one.
After the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NC and the Congress parted ways and the NC entered into a coalition with two PDP Councillors and four Independents to continue in power in the Council. Months later, both PDP and independent councillors joined the BJP, which extended support to the NC. The half way mark to be in power is 16.