Even as leaders of the ruling National Conference and the opposition BJP have been exchanging barbs in Jammu and Kashmir, the two parties joined hands in the Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) in the Union Territory of Ladakh to foil the Congress's attempt to dislodge the incumbent Chairman, Dr Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon.
Dr Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, Chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, belongs to the National Conference. A no-confidence motion against him was moved by the Congress with the support of some Independents and a faction of the National Conference.
Reports said that, for the first time since the Congress moved the no-confidence motion against Dr Akhoon in May this year, a meeting of the LAHDC-Kargil was convened to pass the budget. All 12 National Conference councillors, along with six BJP members, one Congress member, and one Independent councillor, participated in the meeting and passed the budget.
With the budget being passed with the support of 20 councillors in the 30-member House, the incumbent Chairperson of LAHDC-Kargil, Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, proved his majority and thwarted the Congress's plan to remove him from office.
Congress moved no-confidence motion against NC Chairperson in May
A political crisis erupted in LAHDC-Kargil after the Congress, backed by five dissident National Conference councillors, moved a no-confidence motion against Chairperson-cum-Chief Executive Councillor Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon in May this year.
Interestingly, 11 Congress councillors were joined by five members of the ruling National Conference in supporting the no-confidence motion against Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon.
The no-confidence resolution, bearing the signatures of 16 councillors — 11 from the Congress and five from the National Conference — was submitted to Deputy Commissioner, Kargil, Rakesh Kumar.
The delegation urged that the matter be processed in accordance with the legal framework and democratic procedures laid down in the LAHDC Act.
After moving the no-confidence motion against Akhoon, Kargil Congress president Asgar Ali Karbalai demanded the resignation of the CEC and the handing over of power to the Congress.
In October 2023, the National Conference emerged as the single largest party with 12 seats, while the Congress secured 10 seats in the 26-member elected council. Following the fractured mandate, the two parties formed an alliance with an understanding to rotate power after two and a half years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Independents won two seats each. Four seats reserved for women and minorities are nominated by the government, taking the total strength of the council to 30.
Under the coalition agreement, both parties decided to hold the post of Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) in rotation. The National Conference was to hold the post for the first two and a half years, followed by the Congress for the next two and a half years.
According to the pact, the term of the National Conference's Chairperson expired on April 18, and he was expected to hand over the reins of the council to the Congress.
The power-sharing agreement was announced by Omar Abdullah, then a senior National Conference leader and now the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Under the arrangement, the National Conference and the Congress were to head the Kargil Council for two and a half years each. In the first phase, Dr Akhoon was elected Chairperson-cum-CEC on October 18, 2023, and completed his term on April 18, 2026.
Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, however, has refused to step down despite completing his two-and-a-half-year term, delaying the swearing-in of a Congress nominee as CEC in accordance with the power-sharing agreement reached between the two parties before the formation of the council.
In the 30-member House, the National Conference has 12 seats and the Congress has 10. The BJP and Independents hold two seats each. Four nominated councillors are supporting the BJP, taking the party's effective strength to six. The majority mark in the council is 16.
