Ladakh Parliamentary Constituency Profile
News Kashmir Analysis
Ladakh is the only Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituency of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is the largest such constituency in India, in terms of area, with a total area of 173,266 square kilometres (66,898 sq mi). The number of electors (voters) in the constituency was 159,000 in 2019.
This time around, Ladakh Lok Sabha seat, which is lone Parliamentary constituency in the Union Territory of Ladakh, has 1,84,803 electorates in total and is among very few Lok Sabha constituencies which have less than two lakh voters. It will go to polls in fifth phase on May 20.
As per the official data, out of a total electorates of 1,84,803 in Ladakh seat; 92,689 are male and 92,114 are females. Leh district has 88877 voters and Kargil 95926.
On the last day for withdrawal of nomination, a total of two independent candidates have withdrawn their nomination papers including in favor of independent candidate Haji Hanifa Jan. The candidates that have withdrawn their nominations include Kacho Mohd Feroz and Sajjad Hussain Sajjad Hussain Kargili. Now a total of three candidates remain in fray to contest Lok Sabha election 2024 for Ladakh Parliamentary seat.
On the other hand, National Conference (NC) has faced a revolt in the Kargil district of Ladakh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections for the parliamentary constituency after the district unit Kargil submitted a mass resignation letter to the party High Command .
The setback for the NC in Kargil comes following disagreements over the choice of candidate for the Lok Sabha elections between the National Conference (NC) and Congress who are part of the INDIA bloc.
On the otherhand of the spectrum,
Sonam Wangchuk, a celebrated environmentalist and innovator, recently decided to sit on a 21-day hunger strike to express the anguish of Ladakhis. This protest followed a series of talks between the Ladakhi leadership and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which hit a cul-de-sac on March 3, 2024.
The Ladakhi leaders approached the MHA with four demands: 1) Statehood for Ladakh 2) Inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution 3) Setting up of a separate public service commission for Ladakh 4) Two parliamentary seats for Ladakh.
Ladakh is also a world famous tourism spot ,and with unique and fragile ecosystems with issues of voters also ranging on preserving the same .
The contest is hoped to be triangular and very interesting this time around.
