Call it double standards or a strategic political move, the National Conference (NC) leadership has directed its Kargil unit of the party to support the INDIA bloc candidate—Tsering Namgyal, a Buddhist from Leh who is currently the leader of opposition in Leh Council—in the Lok Sabha election for the Ladakh seat.
In a clear message to the Kargil unit of the party, the NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah, through a post on ‘X’, has conveyed that “failure to follow this directive will be seen as a serious breach of party discipline”.
NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah has directed the Kargil unit of the party to support the INDIA bloc candidate – T Namgyal in the Lok Sabha election for the Ladakh seat. He has told his colleagues that failure to follow this directive will be seen as a serious breach of party…
— JKNC (@JKNC_) May 6, 2024
The NC chief’s direction has come a day after the senior Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) leader and Independent candidate for Ladakh seat, Sajjad Kargili decided to withdraw his nomination papers in support of the NC candidate, Haji Hanfia Jan, who was being projected as INDIA bloc candidate in Kargil district as the local Congress leaders has also extended their support to the NC leader.
Interestingly, NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah and vice-president, Omar Abdullah, on May 1, had extended congratulations to the party’s Kargil district president Haji Hanifa Jan on his nomination as the joint candidate of NC and Congress for the Ladakh parliamentary seat.
“They express their confidence in his ability to unite the people of Ladakh and advocate for their concerns of ongoing disempowerment since August 5, 2019, in the Indian Parliament. Wishing him the best of luck, they believe he will effectively represent the region’s interests on the national stage,” the party spokesperson had written on ‘X’.
JKNC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah and VP @OmarAbdullah extend their congratulations to JKNC District President Haji Hanifa Jan on his nomination as the joint candidate of JKNC and @INCIndia for the Ladakh Parliamentary Lok Sabha seat.
They express their confidence in his…
— JKNC (@JKNC_) May 1, 2024
With the withdrawal of Sajjad Kargili’s nomination papers, Haji Hanifa Jan is the lone candidate from Shia-dominated Kargil district. Kargili was the runner up in the 2019 parliamentary elections held in Ladakh. The decision refocused the Ladakh parliamentary contest into a direct confrontation between two ideologically-different Leh and Kargil districts.
In Leh, Congress has fielded Tsering Namgyal as its candidate for Lok Sabha seat, while the BJP has dropped its sitting Member of Parliament Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and decided to give mandate to sitting Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) Leh Council Advocate Tashi Gyalson.
Congress leaders in Ladakh have flagged serious concerns over the violation of alliance agreement by the National Conference as it was decided between two parties that Ladakh seat mandate would be given to Congress party. The demand for a decisive action against the National Conference for breaching alliance agreement has been gaining momentum in the region.
“We provided unconditional support to the National Conference in Kashmir without insisting on fielding a Congress candidate on NC’s mandate. However, their demand in Kargil was unreasonable. If they had proposed a Congress candidate from Kargil, they might have secured the mandate. Unfortunately, they undermined and spoiled their case by suggesting an NC candidate on Congress mandate,” Ladakh president of Congress, Nawang Rigzin Jora had said recently.
The senior Congress leader had further said, “Leh has got the mandate. As per the alliance agreement, three Muslim candidates from NC were given the mandate from Kashmir, while Congress, as a part of its inclusive agenda, gave the mandate to two Hindus from Jammu region and Ladakh mandate went to the Leh district. The party high command has approved the nomination of T. Namgyal”.
Veteran Buddhist leader, Chering Dorjay Lakrook, who was elected as the new president of the influential apex body of Buddhists–Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) on Sunday, has said, “As an apolitical entity, we have a restricted role in endorsing specific political candidates. However, it’s unfortunate that Kargil groups have aligned along religious lines, setting up a direct confrontation between Leh and Kargil. Undoubtedly, the lone candidate from Kargil will hold an edge over Leh candidates, barring there is no major dramatic turnaround on Monday (the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers)”.
Pertinently, the BJP won the Ladakh Parliamentary seat for two successive Lok Sabha elections. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, veteran politician Thupstan Chhewang from Leh district 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 from 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.
