The National Conference expelled Dr Jaffer Ali Akhoon, Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council in Kargil, from primary membership for six years on Saturday. The move followed Akhoon’s decision to pass the district’s annual budget with BJP support. The party has taken no action against its twelve councillors who also backed the measure.
The LAHDC Kargil comprises thirty members, twenty-six elected and four nominated. Elections held in October 2023 resulted in an NC-Congress alliance winning twenty-two seats. The NC took twelve, Congress ten, the BJP two and independents one. Four nominated members aligned with the BJP, giving it six seats total.
The alliance had agreed that the NC would lead the council for the first two-and-a-half years before handing the CEC post to Congress. Akhoon, the NC nominee, refused to step down when the term ended, prompting a no-confidence motion from Congress that some NC councillors supported.
The budget vote became the first major test of Akhoon’s majority. It passed with backing from all twelve NC councillors, six BJP members, one Congress councillor and one independent. Nine Congress councillors and another independent were absent.
The outcome strengthened Akhoon’s position and raised the possibility of new alignments between sections of the NC and the BJP in Kargil. Akhoon called the BJP support unconditional and denied any formal understanding.
The episode occurred as the NC campaigns for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Party leaders viewed acceptance of BJP support as politically untenable.
Local socio-religious bodies such as the Islamia School Kargil and the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust often influence outcomes in Kargil. Both backed an independent candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha election rather than the INDIA bloc nominee.
Observers note that politics in Kargil tends to follow local interests more than strict party lines and suggest the rift may not be permanent.
