Leh: The chief electoral officer of Ladakh on Friday announced elections to the municipal committees of Leh and Kargil, comprising 38 wards, on November 21.
The last panchayat and municipal elections in Ladakh were held in 2018 when it was part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both the bodies have completed their terms.
According to a press note issued by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rahul Sharma, the electoral rolls for the municipal committees of Leh (21 wards) and Kargil (17 wards) were published on Thursday, with October 1 as the qualifying date.
According to the proposed election schedule, the notification for the municipal elections will be issued on October 29, with November 5 as the last date for filing nominations.
The scrutiny of nominations will take place on November 6, and the candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 9, it said.
The allotment of symbols and publication of the list of contesting candidates will also take place on November 9, followed by polling on November 21. The entire election process is scheduled to be completed by November 30.
The elections are being conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act, 2000, and the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Committee (Election) Rules, 2003.
The model code of conduct will come into force with immediate effect, as stated in the press note, and remain in force until the completion of the election process.
Political parties, candidates and concerned authorities have been directed to strictly adhere to the code and the instructions issued by the competent authority.
Meanwhile, Ladakh State Election Commission issued separate notifications inviting objections and suggestions from the public and other stakeholders on the draft delimitation of constituencies for eight newly created Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC).
According to eight separate notifications issued by the Commission, objections and suggestions must be submitted to the deputy commissioners or Block Development Officers of these districts by November 2.
The Commission proposes to determine the boundary of each constituency and seeks public feedback on the draft proposals.
The draft delimitation process is being undertaken under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Election) Rules, 2026, which provide for the division of council areas into single-member territorial constituencies.
The notification outlines the process for delimiting constituencies in the newly created council areas.
The delimitation process will look at geographical contiguity, compactness of area, boundaries of panchayats, comparability of elector populations and the seasonal inaccessibility of constituencies.
The Commission stated that the draft delimitation proposals have been published to invite public feedback before final recommendations are made.
The exercise is aimed at finalising constituency boundaries for the eight newly constituted hill councils in Leh, Kargil, Changthang, Nubra, Drass, Zanskar, Sham and Sankoo, in accordance with the applicable election rules.
On October 21, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had notified 100 constituencies for the eight LAHDCs, nearly doubling the existing strength of 52 seats.
Under the new structure notified under the LAHDC (Amendment) Regulation 2026, Leh will have 22 constituencies, Kargil 21, Sankoo 13, Changthang 10, Nubra, Sham and Zanskar nine each, and Drass seven.
