STATE TIMES NEWS
LEH: In a big jolt to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Tundup Tashi won the prestigious by-election of Tingmosgang Councillor constituency of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh on Saturday. Counting of votes began at Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra Leh from 10:00 AM. Congress candidate Tashi Tundup, who was later declared as the winner, won with a margin of 273 votes. Tundup bagged 861 votes while BJP candidate Dorjay Namgyal managed only 588 votes. Bye-election to Tingmosgang Constituency was necessitated as the seat had fallen vacant after the demise of Sonam Dorjay in May this year. Sonam Dorjay was elected from the Constituency during 6th General Election of LAHDC Leh in October 2020. The election was a direct and tough contest between Bhartiya Janata Party candidate Dorjay Namgyal, who has served as a Councillor from the constituency from 2005 to 2010 and INC candidate Tashi Tundup, who is a new entrant into politics. BJP leaders including MP Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and CEC Leh Tashi Gyaltsan, and Congress leader and former Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora were among the leaders who campaigned rigorously in the constituency.
This election was closely watched by observers as a crucial one and similarly, both political parties have been focusing all their strength, resources and energy to the constituency. The election is seen more as an expression of people’s dissatisfaction with the current arrangement of the UT Administration which has no say of any local representative.
