Srinagar: The ongoing border tension between India and China in Ladakh region has cast a shadow over the upcoming election of the autonomous Hill Council in Leh district, with all political parties other than the ruling BJP pushing for poll deferment of the electoral exercise till the situation eases.

This will be the first election for Leh district’s highest elected body after BJP-led Central government separated Ladakh – spread over Leh and Kargil districts – from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and granted it a Union Territory status. This move was largely seen as one made to fulfil its electoral agenda.

Opposition to elections

All opposition political parties – Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) – have said there could be problems with holding the polls as scheduled, citing Indo-China border tension and a spike in COVID-19 cases in the newly carved out Union Territory.

Also read: More Bureaucracy, Still No Jobs: What's Really Changed Since Ladakh Became a UT

Minutes of a meeting held by the Deputy Commissioner Leh – who is the authority for the polls – with representatives of political parties on September 5, reveals that all, barring BJP, demanded postponement.

The five-year term of the Council is ending next month.

The minutes of the meeting, a copy of which in in possession of The Wire, reveals that Congress “asked for postponement of election in view of increasing number of COVID-19 cases and prevailing border situation”. ” The election should be held once the situation normalises,” the opposition party is recorded as having said.

In view of the health crisis, Congress said that people may have come to Leh from border villages and there might not be enough people left to campaign in the villages.

The party also submitted that virtual rallies may not be possible due to absence of telecommunication and mobile facilities in the villages.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi party, which has been trying to gain a foothold in the region since August 5, 2019, also cited increase in COVID-19 cases and border tension.

“Due to ongoing border tension, campaigning in border villages may not be possible, thereby resulting in lower electoral participation,” the official note quotes AAP as saying.

Also read: A Year After 370 Was Revoked, Ladakh Is Starting to Feel the Sting

The BJP, which is heading the Hill Council after winning 18 out of 26 seats in 2015 polls, was the lone party in favour of holding elections on time.

BJP has suggested restricting political gatherings to 20-25 persons, use of electronic voting machines and creation of sub-polling booths within polling booths to prevent the spread of the disease.

The BJP has already begun aggressive campaigning efforts to retain power in the council, as is evident from the two visits of the party’s general secretary Ram Madhav to the region in the past few months.

The BJP-ruled Council last week passed a resolution seeking safeguards under Article 371 of the constitution or the Sixth Schedule to protect the land and jobs in the region.

Military standoff and COVID-19 cases in Ladakh

The ongoing military standoff between India and China began in May 2020 with troopers from both sides engaging in face-offs and skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh region.

Watch: Can LAC Tension Go from 'Firing in the Air' to an India-China War?

The faceoff took an ugly turn on the intervening night of June 14 and 15 when 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent clash with Chinese Army. The casualties suffered by PLA of China are not known.

Then in September, India and Chinese armies accused each other of firing warning shots in a further escalation of military tension between the nuclear-armed countries.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, more than 3,000 persons have tested positive in Ladakh region. The number is 1,700 in Leh and 1,300 in Kargil.

Hill Councils and their history

The Autonomous Hill Development Councils for both Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region were created through an Act of the President in 1995 when erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was under President’s Rule.

The law for creation of the Council was enacted by the President himself as powers of J&K legislature are vested in him by the parliament through The Jammu And Kashmir State Legislature (Delegation Of Powers) Act, 1992. Subsequently, J&K government enacted a law in 1997 to retain the law enacted during central rule in J&K.

While Hill Council Leh came into existence in 1995, the Council in Kargil region was established in 2003.

Both the Councils have 30 members each, of whom 26 are elected and four are nominated by government.

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