Fearing split in Leh’s Buddhist votes, Congress, BJP focus on Kargil

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, May 17

In a highly polarised electoral atmosphere in the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat, where only three candidates are vying for victory in the poll, the Buddhist candidates of Congress and BJP are now looking towards Muslim-dominated Kargil for help.

Move to benefit Haji Hanifa Jan

With two Buddhist candidates in fray from Leh, the votes are expected to get split between Gyalson and Namgyal in Leh, which will directly benefit the sole candidate from Kargil — Haji Hanifa Jan – who is an Independent and member of the Shia community.

In addition to campaigning in the Buddhist-dominated Leh district, Tashi Gyalson of the BJP and Tsering Namgyal of Congress recently visited Kargil to woo locals. With two Buddhist candidates in fray from Leh, the votes are expected to get split between Gyalson and Namgyal in Leh, which will directly benefit the sole candidate from Kargil – Haji Hanifa Jan – who is an Independent and is a member of the Shia community.

In 2014 and 2019, the BJP had fielded two separate candidates and won both times. The party has this year decided not to field sitting MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and instead given LS ticket to Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Tashi Gyalson.

Now, the Congress and BJP are in a tizzy due to reports of consolidation of vote-bank in Kargil in favour of Jan and are trying to win some votes from the Muslim-dominated district.

Interestingly, while Gyalson and Namgyal have visited Kargil and met many religious leaders from the Muslim community, Jan has been focusing only on Kargil. His team members are also focusing on some Muslim-majority areas of Nubra belt in Leh.

However, there has not been any major meeting by Jan in Leh. On the other hand, Gyalson and Namgyal are focusing on the Zanskar region of Kargil, where Buddhist population is significant.

During his visit to Kargil recently, Gyalson met Sheikh Nazir-Ul-Mehdi Mohammadi, president, Jamiat-Ulama-Isna Asharia, Kargil, and its general secretary Sheikh Ibrahim Khalili and sought their “blessings”.

Namgyal also met with the president of Jamiat-Ulama-Isna Asharia. He also met with the members of Anjuman Sofia Noorbakshia.

While Ladakh residents had unanimously and irrespective of their faiths agitated for the Sixth Schedule status under the aegis of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) in the recent past, a sudden polarisation has been witnessed in the region after the finalisation of candidates for the Lok Sabha poll. Polling will be held in Ladakh on May 20.