Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Congress’s RigzinSpalbar, PDP and NC-backed SajjadHussain and Congress rebel Haji Asgar Ali Karbalai are now in fray for the LadakhLokSabha seat, after Kacho Muhammad Feroz and Asgar Ali withdrew their nominations on Monday, the last day for walking out of the contest.
Spread over Leh and Kargil districts and having four assembly segments including Kargil, Zanaskar, Nobra and Leh, Ladakh is geographically one of the largest and population-wise one of the smallest constituencies in the country.
Union minister of state in PMO and candidate for Udhampur seat Jitendra Singh, BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir in-charge AvinashRai Khanna, State BJP President Ravinder Raina and about two dozen top office-bearers and former state ministers are camping in Leh to mobilise voters for Namgyal, who is also the Chief Executive of the powerful Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh.
Party sources said that Prime Minister NarendraModi, UnionMinister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister of State forHome KirenRijiju and some other senior leaders will be addressing rallies inLadakh, where polling is scheduled on May 6 in the last phase of the five-phaseparliamentary elections.
“Many ministers and senior leaders will come and addressrallies in Leh, Zanskar and Kargil,” MLC Vikram Randhawa, who is also in-chargeof Ladakh, told Greater Kashmir.
“We will retain the seat and party is already done with thepoll plan and implementation is underway. We are not like Congress. All partyleaders are backing our candidate,” he added.
SajjadHussain, who, besides PDP and NC, has the backing ofKargil’s powerful religious organization, Islamia School, will play animportant role in the contest. Karbalai’s presence, however, might spoil hischances.
Karbalai deserted the Congress after he was denied electionticket. He is being backed by influential Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust. Local Congress leadership, not the nationalleaders, are campaigning for the party candidate in Leh and Kargil.
In 2014 ThupstanChhewang of BharatiyaJanata Party won with amargin of 36 votes. Chhewang secured 31,111 votes while Independent GhulamRazasecured 31,075 votes. Chhewang last year resigned, citing ‘discrimination’against Ladakh, as the reason.