Ladakh seat heads for tough contest as Sajjad Kargili announces to enter electoral race

Kargili’s decision to ‘scuttle’ NC’s efforts to consolidate Shia Muslim votes; BJP 'manages' to persuade JTN; NC candidate to file papers today

Jammu: The electoral battle for the prestigious Ladakh seat seems to be heading for a tough fight with new contenders from Shia Muslim-dominated Kargil district entering the fray and challenging the joint candidate of the National Conference supported by some Kargil-based Congress leaders.
It also served as a major jolt to the National Conference’s efforts to consolidate Shia Muslim votes with the help of local Congress leaders in Kargil district “to ensure the defeat” of BJP candidate, Tashi Gyalson, a Buddhist from Leh district, who had filed his nomination papers yesterday.
Senior leader of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), Sajjad Kargili also announced his candidacy for the Ladakh seat as an independent, challenging the joint candidate, Haji Hanifa Jan, the district president of the National Conference, who is being backed by handful leaders of Congress party in Kargil.
Kargili made an announcement through a video message where he invoked divine blessings before outlining his candidacy plans. He emphasised addressing Ladakh’s four crucial demands, including Union Territory status, the Sixth Schedule, youth unemployment, and the formation of separate parliamentary constituencies in Leh and Kargil districts.
His announcement followed the speculations after Kargili clarified the independent selections of candidates by both the National Conference and the Congress, distancing KDA from their decision-making process. Similarly, a senior Shia Muslim leader Haji Mustafa from Kargil is also expected to file his nomination papers tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Tsering Namgyal, leader of the opposition in Leh Council, filed his papers as an “official candidate” of the Congress after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) cleared his name for the seat. He was accompanied by Ladakh president of Congress and former minister Rigzin Jora and other senior leaders of the party while filing his papers at the office of Returning Officer (RO) Ladakh in Leh.
With his nomination, Haji Hanifa Jan, who was being put forth as a joint candidate of INDIA bloc, will join the electoral race as an independent candidate and will also file his nomination papers tomorrow.
Sources also told The News Now that the BJP leadership has “successfully managed” to persuade its defiant incumbent Lok Sabha member Jamyang Tsering Namgyal (JTN), who was denied party mandate from the seat, thereby “bringing an end to the open revolt within the party for the time being”.
“After several rounds of persuasion, JTN accepted the party’s decision and agreed to work for strengthening the party at the grassroots level in Ladakh. He will also join the campaign in favour of the party candidate in the next couple of days,” sources said.
JTN, however, did not respond to the repeated phone calls to get confirmations as to whether he would be joining the election campaign in favour of the party candidate.
Pertinently, the BJP won the Ladakh Parliamentary seat for two successive Lok Sabha elections. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, veteran politician ThupstanChhewang won this seat as BJP candidate by a margin of only 36 votes.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, who was then sitting Chairman-cum-CEC of LAHDC Leh recorded an impressive victory margin of 10,930 votes over NC, PDP, and Islamiya School Kargil joint candidate, Sajjad Kargili. Namgayal polled 42,914 votes as against Sajjad Karigili’s 31984.
Two other candidates in the fray in Ladakh were Haji Asgar Karbalaie, former Congress MLA from Kargil, and Rigzin Spalbar (Congress) finished third and fourth with 29365 and 21241 votes respectively. Karbalaei had contested the election as an Independent.

Updated On 5/3/2024 2:42:52 AM