Ladakh: Leh in Ladakh is one of India’s highest electoral battlegrounds that locates about 5,000 feet above the sea level and the northernmost as well as remotest region in the Himalayas. Here, 67 out of 69 voters cast their ballot in the eighth phase of India’s staggered parliamentary elections.

Polls in Ladakh are a herculean task. Here, the expenditure per voter is said to be nearly one Lakh rupees ($1,667). Nearly 65 percent of people went out to vote in Leh this time. The polling was peaceful, with no disturbances even from weather.

Ladakh, a cold arid desert plateau is the largest parliamentary (Lok Sabha) constituency in India in terms of area. In the two districts of Leh and Kargil, there are 531 polling stations for 159, 631 voters scattered over an area over 173 million square km.

For the lone seat here, there are four candidates, including two independents, one Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and one Congress party candidate.
For many voters, the most important demands are all weather connectivity and union territory status for the region.
Conducting polls for the lone parliamentary seat in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Ladakh region is really a big logistical nightmare.
The polling officials after the election have returned home by helicopters. Before the polling they were airlifting to the respective locations.

Video on polling in Ladakh