The Leh Apex Body (LAB), one of the two Ladakh-based organisations engaged in talks with the Centre over the region’s demands, is all set to resume its protest in Leh from Thursday.One of the major reasons for the protest is the timing of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections, announced by Ladakh’s State Election Commission, with polling scheduled for December 4.LAB convenor Gelek Phunchok told The Tribune on Wednesday that the decision to launch a dharna at NDS Memorial Park from November 12 was a “consequence of years of unfulfilled assurances, prolonged delays and the government’s failure to address the legitimate aspirations of the people of Ladakh”.“Since 2020, the people of Ladakh have been waiting for meaningful progress on their political future and constitutional safeguards. While the government is issuing election notifications one after another, despite public objections to the timing of LAHDC elections, it has failed to convene the promised MHA Sub-Committee meeting of October 22,” he said.Phunchok said the continued delay in releasing the Judicial Enquiry Commission report, more than a year after the tragic September 24 incident, “further reflects the lack of urgency in delivering justice and accountability”.He said the protest by Ladakh groups centred on four key demands.“Reconsideration of the December LAHDC election schedule in view of harsh winter conditions; immediate resumption of dialogue with the MHA; publication of the enquiry report and justice for the September 24 victims; and rollback of the new liquor policy despite assurances given to women’s representatives,” he said.According to Phunchok, they had exhausted considerable patience in pursuing dialogue.“Repeated assurances without concrete action are no longer acceptable. The dharna beginning November 12 is a clear expression of our opposition to this continued approach. If the government fails to respond with tangible action, the Apex Body will intensify its democratic agitation,” he said.What happened at the October meeting?In mid-October, a meeting was held between Ladakh leaders and MHA officials in Leh. However, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) rejected the draft proposal presented by the Centre, alleging that the Union government had backtracked on the assurances given during a meeting in May.Following the meeting, Ladakh leaders had announced that the next round of talks would be held in New Delhi on October 22 to take the discussions forward.However, the meeting did not take place as the Centre did not send invitations to the leaders.Following the rejection of the draft proposal by the two bodies representing Ladakh, the Union Territory administration said that the Centre was “fully committed to finding a political solution at the earliest”.However, it also expressed disappointment over the response of Ladakh’s leadership, alleging that the draft proposal had been “rubbished” within two hours of its receipt.Earlier, talks were also held in New Delhi on September 9, which the LAB and KDA had described as a “non-starter”, citing a lack of substantive progress on key issues concerning Ladakh.Before this, in May this year, the Centre and Ladakh representatives had reached an in-principle understanding on extending constitutional safeguards to the Union Territory along the lines of Articles 371A, 371F and 371G, which provide special protections to Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram, respectively.