SRINAGAR: The Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council has plunged into a fresh political crisis after four BJP councillors resigned, citing the reorganisation of Ladakh into additional districts and the creation of new Hill Development Councils, according to reports appearing in the media.
The resignations are significant because the constituencies represented by the councillors have been brought under the jurisdiction of the newly created Hill Councils, effectively altering the territorial basis on which the existing Kargil Council was constituted.
According to a report in Daily Excelsior, the four BJP councillors who submitted their resignations to Kargil Deputy Commissioner and Council Chief Executive Officer are Stanzin Lakpa of Cha, Padma Dorjay of Bodhkharbu, and nominated councillors Stanzin Gurmet and Namgyal Punchok.
The four are among the BJP’s six councillors in the 30-member Kargil Council. The remaining two BJP councillors have not resigned and represent areas that continue to fall within the jurisdiction of the reorganised Kargil Hill Council, the report said.
The development follows the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ announcement of five new districts in Ladakh, carved out of the existing Leh and Kargil districts. The Ladakh administration subsequently notified seven Hill Development Councils covering the Union Territory’s districts, according to media reports.
The territorial reorganisation has created an unusual situation for the existing Kargil Council, whose elected term continues until October 2028. The Leh Hill Council, meanwhile, completed its term in October 2025.
The immediate political consequence of the resignations could be felt in the balance of power within the Kargil Council.
With four councillors leaving, the effective strength of the 30-member House would fall to 26, bringing the halfway mark for a majority to 14. Council Chairman-cum-Chief Executive Councillor Dr Mohammad Jaffar Akhoon has so far depended on BJP support to maintain his position.
Akhoon was not available for comment on the latest development, according to the reports.
The BJP’s Ladakh UT president, Tashi Gyalson Kachu, told Daily Excelsior that the four councillors had resigned because their constituencies had become part of other Hill Councils following the reorganisation. On the question of Akhoon’s position, Kachu said that the Council chairman would have to decide what course of action to take.
The latest crisis comes months after an earlier confrontation over Akhoon’s continuation as chairman.
The Kargil Council was constituted on October 18, 2023, following elections in which the National Conference and Congress emerged as the principal forces. Under a power-sharing arrangement between the two parties, each was to hold the chairman-cum-CEC position for two-and-a-half years.
Akhoon, who represented the National Conference, completed his first two-and-a-half-year term on April 18, 2026. Congress had been expected to take over the position, with Nassir Munshi tipped to succeed him.
Akhoon, however, declined to step down, arguing that the creation of five new districts in Ladakh—including two carved out of Kargil—had fundamentally altered the Council’s territorial structure.
The dispute escalated on May 14, when 16 councillors submitted a no-confidence motion against him. The group included nine Congress councillors, five from the National Conference and two Independents.
The Ladakh administration did not order a floor test.
Akhoon subsequently demonstrated that he still commanded support in the House when the Council’s budget was passed on July 13 with the backing of 20 councillors. The vote included 12 from the National Conference, six BJP councillors, one Congress councillor and one Independent.
The Congress subsequently did not press the no-confidence motion, with the BJP’s support giving Akhoon a working majority.
The resignation of four BJP councillors, however, changes that arithmetic. According to media reports, the remaining 26-member House could leave Akhoon’s position vulnerable if another confidence or no-confidence vote is sought and the two BJP councillors who remain in the House do not support him.
The developments also raise a larger institutional question: what happens to the existing Kargil Hill Council when several of its constituencies have been transferred to newly created districts and Councils before its five-year term expires.
Reports indicate that some other councillors of the Kargil Council also represent constituencies that have now fallen within the jurisdiction of the newly established districts and Hill Councils, potentially adding another layer to the uncertainty surrounding the future composition and functioning of the Council.
