Draw of lots completed; Leh gets highest eight seats, Kargil seven
The Biz Reporter
JAMMU, Nov 6: A total of 36 seats have been reserved for women across eight Autonomous Hill Development Councils (AHDCs) in Ladakh, with the administration on Thursday completing the reservation exercise through a draw of lots.
The exercise was conducted separately for each Council by the respective district administrations under the supervision of the State Election Commission (SEC), Ladakh.
Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council has the highest number of reserved seats at eight out of 22, followed by Kargil with seven out of 21. Sankoo Hill Council has five seats reserved for women out of 13, while Changthang has four out of 10.
Similarly, three seats each have been reserved for women in Nubra, Sham and Zanskar Hill Councils, which have nine seats each. Drass Hill Council, comprising seven seats, will also have three reserved seats.
Under Rule 3(5) of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Election) Rules, 2026, not less than one-third of the total directly elected seats in each Council must be reserved for women. The rules further provide that any fraction arising from the calculation of one-third shall be rounded off to the next higher whole number.
Consequently, the total number of reserved seats has increased to 36 from 33 across the eight Councils, which together have 100 directly elected seats.
This will be the first election to the eight newly constituted Hill Development Councils with the provision of one-third reservation for women.
Meanwhile, no decision has been taken so far on the timing of elections to the Hill Councils, even as the electoral process for Municipal bodies and Panchayats in Ladakh is underway. Polling for the local bodies is scheduled for November 21.
The delimitation of constituencies for all eight Hill Councils has been completed, while the revision of electoral rolls is in progress. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on November 10.
Each Hill Council will also have four nominated Councillors, to be appointed by the Union Territory administration from among women and unrepresented sections of society.
The Central Government and the UT administration have already notified the powers of the Hill Councils.
Earlier, Ladakh had only two districts, Leh and Kargil, each having its own Autonomous Hill Development Council. Following the creation of six additional districts by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, all eight districts now have separate Hill Councils.
Sources said a decision on the Council elections is likely to be taken after the publication of the final electoral rolls on November 10. Weather conditions will also be taken into consideration before announcing the poll schedule.
Although polling for Municipal and Panchayat elections is scheduled for November 21, the entire election process for these local bodies is expected to conclude by November 30, sources said.
Politically, the upcoming elections will be significant, particularly for the Leh and Kargil Councils, which have witnessed different political alignments in recent years.
The BJP remained in power in the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council for two consecutive terms, from 2015 to 2020 and 2020 to 2025, with an absolute majority. Before that, the Congress was in control of the Council. The Leh Council completed its five-year term in October 2025.
In Kargil, the National Conference initially led the Hill Council with the support of the Congress for nearly two-and-a-half years. Subsequently, the Council was headed by NC rebel Dr Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, who had the support of NC and BJP Councillors, until he recommended its dissolution despite nearly two years of the Council’s term remaining. Akhoon has since joined the BJP.
