Slugging it out with Ladakh administration for symbol, NC pins Kargil poll hopes on SC ruling

Last month, the Farooq Abdullah-led NC had moved the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, which ruled in its favour allowing the party candidates to contest the LAHDC-Kargil polls on its plough symbol.

A division bench of the high court on August 14 dismissed the Ladakh administration’s plea challenging the single bench’s decision.

On September 1, the apex court reserved its verdict on the NC’s plea challenging the denial of the party’s symbol to its candidates for the LAHDC-Kargil polls.

An apex court bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said their judgment will be pronounced on September 6. Earlier, the bench had termed as “unfair” the UT administration’s move not to grant the plough symbol to the party for the hill council elections despite the high court’s order.

The NC has been recognised as a “state party” for the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state. After the scrapping of its special status, the state was split into the UTs of J&K and Ladakh – comprising the districts of Leh and Kargil – in August 2019.

In its arguments against reserving the plough symbol for the NC, the Ladakh administration says that no state party, including the NC, is a recognised party in Ladakh, and that the NC could therefore not claim its plough symbol in the UT.

On its part, the NC however says that as the incumbent in Kargil’s hill development council it wants to contest elections on the symbol that was previously allotted to and reserved for the party.

The hill council elections in Kargil is crucial since these are the first local polls in the region since Ladakh’s split from J&K in August 2019. Following its reorganisation, Ladakh witnessed continued protests for locals’ protection in land and jobs besides the region’s inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

In January this year, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs formed a high-powered committee to discuss measures to protect Ladakh’s “unique culture and language”, considering its geographical location and strategic importance.
The NC and the Congress, which have support bases in the Ladakh region, have a seat-sharing agreement for the LAHDC polls.

The NC’s provincial president in Kashmir province, Nasir Aslam Wani, told The Indian Express that until the matter regarding the party symbol is resolved in court, “The party has no official candidates in the fray in the LAHDC election for Kargil. We are hoping that with the court’s help, we are able to fight on our own symbol.”
For the polls to 26 seats of the LAHDC-Kargil, there are 89 candidates in the fray so far, which include 17 from the BJP, four from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 21 from the Congress, and 47 Independent candidates. Sources however said that at least 17 of the Independent candidates are associated with the NC.

The origin of the plough as a symbol of Kashmir’s struggles dates back to 1939. After Sheikh Abdullah, the NC’s founder and the state’s first chief minister, renamed the Kashmir Muslim Conference to the more secular and inclusive National Conference, he adopted a red flag with a white plough at the centre as the party’s flag.