The State Election Commission of Ladakh has announced elections for all Gram Panchayats, known as Panchayat Halqas, across the Union Territory, with polling on November 21, 2026. The polls will be the first panchayat elections in Ladakh since it became a separate Union Territory in 2019, and the process, including results, will be completed before November 30, News89 reported.
Source: News89
The formal notification will be issued on October 26, nominations close on November 2 and withdrawals on November 5, according to the schedule reported by The Tribune and UNI. The Model Code of Conduct came into force on October 21, and State Election Commissioner Sudhanshu Pandey said the code must be followed scrupulously by all concerned, The Tribune reported. Ladakh last held general panchayat elections in November 2018, when it was part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir — yaani the halqa bodies have gone eight years without a fresh vote.
Source: Newsplainly (citing The Tribune and UNI)
Kargil council dissolved the same day
On the same day, October 21, the Ladakh administration dissolved the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, with immediate effect. It was the only elected body still working in Ladakh, Greater Kashmir reported. All elected and nominated members have ceased to hold office, and the council's powers pass on an interim basis to the Deputy Commissioner of Kargil, who is also the council's Chief Executive Officer, until new councils are formed.
Source: Newsplainly (citing Greater Kashmir)
The dissolution order took into account the resignations on October 20 of Chief Executive Councillor Dr Mohd Jaffar Akhoon, three Executive Councillors and six other councillors, and the redrawing of the old Kargil district after Drass, Zanskar and Sankoo were carved out as new districts, the Jammu News Portal reported, summarising the order. The Kargil council's term had been due to run until October 2028; the Leh council's term ended on October 30, 2025.
Source: Jammu News Portal
Eight councils, 100 seats — but council polls must wait
The administration has notified 100 elected constituencies across eight hill councils under the LAHDC (Amendment) Regulation, 2026 — Leh 22, Kargil 21, Sankoo 13, Changthang 10, Nubra, Sham and Zanskar 9 each, and Drass 7 — nearly doubling the earlier total of 52. Elections to the councils will be held only after delimitation of all eight, and Greater Kashmir reported that winter weather rules them out until about April or May next year.
Source: Newsplainly (citing The Tribune)
The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), one of the two Ladakh groups in talks with the Centre on the region's future, objected to the end of the Kargil council. Its co-chairman Sajjad Kargili asked how a statutory body could be placed above a constitutional framework and said bureaucratic decisions were shrinking democratic space, The Tribune reported. The administration has said the changes bring the councils in line with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said day-to-day governance cannot be put on hold.
Source: Newsplainly (citing The Tribune)