Jammu, Sep 15: Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor, Brigadier (Retd) B D Mishra, has assured the people of Kargil of a fair and transparent hill council election next month. He has also defended his administration’s prolonged, albeit unsuccessful, legal battle over the allocation of the ‘plough’ symbol to the National Conference (NC). Mishra emphatically rejected allegations of bias or working at the behest of the BJP. On September 6, the Supreme Court invalidated the August 5 notification from the Union Territory of Ladakh’s election department for the hill council polls and mandated the issuance of a fresh election schedule within a week.
The Supreme Court ruled that the National Conference is entitled to the ‘plough’ symbol and imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the Ladakh administration for opposing the symbol allocation. National Conference Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that the BJP and the Ladakh administration had “done everything possible” to deny them their rightful symbol, but the court had seen through their actions.
As per the fresh notification issued by the Ladakh election department, the election for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, is now scheduled for October 4.
In an exclusive interview in Jammu, Brigadier (Retd) Mishra stated, “I am a worshipper of the Constitution of India and I have taken an oath to defend, preserve and protect it. I am a devotee of democracy, and therefore I am a watchman for free and fair elections. It is my resolve that free and fair elections should take place.” He emphasized that he is closely monitoring the entire election process, including staff deployment, to ensure that the elections are conducted “free and fair.”
Regarding allegations of bias, Mishra stated, “It is a totally wrong statement or a wrong insinuation.” He stressed that as the Lieutenant Governor, he treats all parties equally and has no instructions or influence from any party. He asserted that elections must be free and fair, guided by laws, rules, and regulations.
Mishra explained that he thoroughly studied the issue before the elections, and after consulting legal experts, concluded that the election symbol could only be reserved by the Election Commission of India, not the UT government. He pursued the legal process based on his conviction and the advice he received.
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court had earlier dismissed the Ladakh administration’s plea against a single bench order that allowed NC candidates to contest the LAHDC, Kargil, polls on the party symbol. The administration had appealed to a division bench of the high court against the single bench order of August 9, which directed the NC to approach the office of the Election Department of the Ladakh administration to notify the reserved symbol “plough.”
Initially scheduled for September 10, the polls for 26 seats of the 30-member LAHDC, Kargil, were reset, with the remaining four members nominated by the administration and granted full voting rights.
 B D Mishra, has assured the people of Kargil of a fair and transparent hill council election){kind=link}