It’s the first election in the Ladakh division on May 6 after it was split as an administrative block from the Kashmir division earlier this year under Governor’s Rule. The 1.74 lakh voters live in rugged mountains and in cold deserts spread over a massive area of 59,196 sq.km. It is the country’s highest electoral battleground, located as it is at an altitude of 9,800 feet above the sea level.

Hanif Shoqi, a student of the Government Degree College, Kargil, is among the many newly enrolled voters in Kargil who are looking for a new face to emerge in the election to the Ladakh seat.

“We will win with God’s grace,” said Mr. Shoqi, as he refers to the Independent candidate Sajjad Hussain, 35, a social activist-turned-journalist-turned-politician.

Of the four candidates in the fray, Mr. Hussain, with a degree from Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi, is considered a dark horse.

Face of protests

He has spearheaded several street protests for reopening of the centuries-old route connecting Kargil with Skardu in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the past few years. Mr. Hussain became the face of the week-long protest rallies held in sub-zero temperatures in the second week of February over equal administrative rights as that of Leh district.

“It was through Mr. Hussain’s reporting for regional, national and international media outlets that pressure was built on New Delhi and the Governor in J&K to have rotational administrative headquarters between Leh and Kargil and appoint two additional divisional commissioners,” Shoiab Hussain, a businessman, said.

Of two influential seminaries of Islamia School Kargil and the Imam Khomenie Memorial Trust Kargil (IKMTK), Mr. Hussain has garnered the support of the former. Smaller religious groups such as the Anjuman Jamiyat Ullama Isna Ashirya Kargil, the Ahlae Sunnat Wal Jamait Kargil and the Anjuman Sofia Noorbaksha have also thrown their weight behind him.

Whether Mr. Hussain wins or not, his entry into electoral politics forced the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, the BJP and the Congress to redraw their strategies.

Former Congress MLA, Kargil, Asgar Ali Karbalai, who retains the support of the IKMTK seminary, has quit the party and decided to contest as an Independent candidate. It seems to be a move to neutralise Mr. Hussain’s vote bank in Kargil, which will allow Congress candidate, Rigzin Spalbar, who is from Leh, to take on Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the BJP.

“By fielding Karbalai as an Independent and Spalzar as official candidate, it was the Congress that broke the alliance against the BJP. The Congress has become a major facilitator in dividing secular votes for petty interests,” said PDP leader Naeem Akhtar.

Mr. Namgyal, 31, said: “The BJP has a vision for both Kargil and Leh. It’s the Centre’s leadership that granted divisional status and a cluster university to Ladakh.”

Ladakh has two districts — Leh, with a high concentration of Buddhists, and Kargil, with the most number of Muslims. However, votes are staggered in the four Assembly segments of Kargil, Zanskar, Leh and Nubra.

The Kargil segment has 65,294 voters and Zanskar 22,487. In Leh, there are 72,689 voters and the farthest Nubra segment has just 14,148.