Congress, NC-backed candidates win Ladakh Hill Council polls

Kargil, May 28 (UNI) A ruling Congress candidate and an independent supported by the main opposition National Conference (NC) today emerged victorious in the by-elections to the Hill Development Councils for Leh and Kargil respectively.

The bypolls to the Lower Leh constituency in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC-Leh) and Ranbirpura Drass seat in the LAHDC-Kargil were held on Saturday.

In Lower Leh, Sonam Dorjay of the Congress defeated Phunchok Wangdan, an independent candidate supported by the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF), in a straight contest by 2142 votes.

The Lower Leh seat fell vacant after Thupstan Chawang got elected to Parliament.

Ghulam Rasool Nagvi, an independent candidate backed by the NC, won Ranbirpura Drass, defeating his nearest rival Ghulam Qadir, a Congress-supported independent nominee, by about 700 votes.

Mohammad Ismail Bhaji of the Peoples Democratic Party and independent Abdul Hameed were also in the fray.

The byelections to the Ranbirpura Drass constituency was necessitated due to the death of councillor Haji Abdul Majeed in a road accident in July last year.

An estimated 78 per cent and 60 per cent polling was recorded in the elections for Lower Leh and Ranbirpura Drass constituencies respectively on Saturday. The polling had passed off peacefully as no untoward incident was reported from any part of the two constituencies.

UNI