Omar Abdullah lauds alliance with Congress after winning Ladakh elections

New Delhi [India]: National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah expressed gratitude towards the Congress party after the Congress-NC alliance scored a victory in the LAHDC (Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council)-Kargil elections. Abdullah also said that these elections should be a wake-up call for the Bhartiya Janata Party.

"The BJP was dealt a resounding defeat at the hands of the NC-INC alliance in Kargil today. In celebration of our strong alliance with the Congress party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference is delighted to announce its victory in the LAHDC Kargil elections", he posted on X.

Launching an attack on the BJP for its defeat in the elections he said, "This result sends a message to all forces and parties that have, undemocratically and unconstitutionally, divided the state of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh without the consent of its people".

"These election results should serve as a wake-up call for the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is time to cease hiding behind the Raj Bhawan and unelected representatives and, instead, acknowledge the people's rightful desire for a democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir. Democracy demands the voices of the people be heard and respected." Abdullah posted on X.

Congress General Secretary in Charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh gave credit to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ladakh.

"...Trends coming in show Congress leading convincingly in the elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil with an almost complete wipeout of the BJP. This is a direct impact of Rahul Gandhi continuing Bharat Jodo Yatra in Ladakh last month," Ramesh posted on X.

The Chief of People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mehboob Mufti said, "Heartening to see secular parties like NC and Congress register their victory in Kargil. It's the first election post-2019 and people of Ladakh have spoken." The PDP however did not contest the election.

The Congress-National Conference alliance bagged 22 seats out of 26 seats (10 Congress and 12 National Conference) while the BJP just won 2 seats and 2 seats were won by independent candidates. This was the first election in the Union Territory Ladakh after Article 370 was scrapped from the Indian constitution.