Bharatiya Janata Party, Ladakh

The Bharatiya Janata Party – Ladakh (; ), commonly known as BJP Ladakh, is the Ladakh union territory unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It was established as an independent union territory unit following the formation of the Union Territory of Ladakh in 2019. The Ladakh unit is headquartered in Leh. Tashi Gyalson Kachu is the current president of the BJP Ladakh unit, having assumed office in July 2025.

The party maintains an electoral presence in both the LAHDC Leh and the LAHDC Kargil. In the 2020 LAHDC Leh election, the BJP won 15 of the 26 directly elected seats and formed the council administration. In the 2023 LAHDC Kargil election, the BJP won 2 of the 26 directly elected seats.

History

The Bharatiya Janata Party had a longstanding presence in the Ladakh region when it was a part of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. Prior to 2019, the region's party affairs were managed directly under the Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit. The BJP historically started the Sindhu Darshan Festival when the Sindhu River was re-discovered in Ladakh. The RSS also runs several schools. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcated the state into two Union Territories, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. This led the BJP to establish a chapter in Ladakh. In July 2020, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the then Member of Parliament from the Ladakh constituency who became popular for defending the abrogation of Article 370, was appointed as the first president of the newly independent Ladakh BJP unit. Under his leadership, the party successfully navigated the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh (LAHDC Leh) elections later that year. In January 2022, J. P. Nadda, the national president of the BJP, appointed Phunchok Stanzin, a former executive councillor of LAHDC Leh, as the new president of the Ladakh BJP unit, replacing Namgyal. In July 2025, Tashi Gyalson, former Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor of the LAHDC Leh, was appointed as the president of the Ladakh BJP unit, succeeding Stanzin.

Electoral Performance

Lok Sabha Elections

The Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency has been contested by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the formation of the Union territory of Ladakh. The party won the constituency in both the 2014 and 2019 Indian general elections. In 2014, BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang was elected, while in 2019 Jamyang Tsering Namgyal retained the seat for the party with a majority of 10,930 votes.

In the 2024 Indian general election, BJP candidate Tashi Gyalson received 31,956 votes and was defeated by independent candidate Mohmad Haneefa, who received 65,259 votes. The result marked the BJP's loss of the Ladakh constituency after two consecutive victories.

+ Ladakh Lok Sabha elections Year Lok Sabha Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats (%) of votes Vote swing Popular vote Outcome 2014 16th Thupstan Chhewang 1 26.18 new 31,289 2019 17th Jamyang Tsering Namgyal 1 33.94 42,914 2024 18th Tashi Gyalson 1 18.96 31,956

Local Council Elections

The BJP maintains a strong presence in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh. During the 2020 LAHDC Leh elections, the BJP secured a majority by winning 15 out of the 26 elected seats, successfully forming the government. Tashi Gyalson currently serves as the Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of LAHDC Leh for the BJP. In contrast, the party has historically faced tougher electoral contests in the Shia Muslim-majority Kargil district, where the National Conference and Indian National Congress have generally dominated the LAHDC Kargil.

+ Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils elections Year Council Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats (%) of seats Outcome 2020 LAHDC Leh Tashi Gyalson 26 57.69 2023 LAHDC Kargil 26 7.69

Leadership

List of Presidents

No. Name Term start Term end Duration References 1 Jamyang Tsering Namgyal 20 July 2020 9 January 2022 2 Phunchok Stanzin 9 January 2022 3 July 2025 3 Tashi Gyalson Kachu 3 July 2025Incumbent

Bharatiya Janata Party, Ladakh

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