INDIA coalition in disarray in Ladakh over candidate
The INDIA bloc found itself in disarray in the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat on Friday. The Congress high command approved the name of Tsering Namgyal, a Buddhist from Leh, as the party candidate, but, on the other hand, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress units of Kargil supported Haji Hanifa Jan, a Shia Muslim, as an Independent candidate.
The Congress and the NC, as a part of the pre-poll seat sharing agreement, had decided to eld a candidate from the Congress party. However, senior Congress leader Haji Asgar Ali Karbalia, who was camping in Delhi this week, was demanding to eld a candidate from Muslim-majority Kargil and not Buddhist-majority Leh.
Mr. Karbalia and senior NC leader Qamar Ali Akhone on Friday accompanied Mr. Jan, NC district president, to the o¦ce of the Assistant Returning Ofcer, Kargil, to le the nomination papers as an Independent candidate. “Mr. Jan is a consensus candidate from Kargil,” a Congress leader said, on condition of anonymity.
The failure of the Congress and the NC to zero in on a joint candidate in Ladakh has also split the in§uential socio-political group, Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which along with Leh Apex Body (LAB) is ghting for Ladakh’s Statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule.
The grouping also has two in§uential seminaries, the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust and the Islamia School Kargil, in it.
Sajjad Kargili, a key member of the KDA, has also led his nomination papers as an Independent candidate.
BJP closes ranks
Meanwhile, the BJP put up a joint face on Friday and indicated that it has resolved the issue with Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, sitting MP, who revolted against the party for nominating Tashi Gyalson as its candidate.
“Under the visionary leadership of Modiji, I am condent that Tashi Gyalsonji, the BJP candidate for Ladakh seat, will carry forward the journey towards a Viksit Bharat, Viksit Ladakh,” said Mr. Namgyal.