BJP sets house in order, JTN falls in line
*Cong leader T Namgayal files papers in Leh
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 2: The BJP set its house in order today in Ladakh with sitting MP Jamyang Tsering Namgayal, who had virtually revolted against the party decision to deny him mandate from Ladakh Lok Sabha seat, agreeing not to contest the election as an Independent candidate and will visit the BJP headquarters in Leh tomorrow to extend support to party nominee Tashi Gyalson while prominent Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) leader Sajjad Kargili, who finished second in 2019 Parliamentary poll, declared that he will join the fray as an Independent candidate. Click here to watch video
Another prominent leader from Kargil and KDA Legal Advisor Haji Mustafa has also obtained nomination form and could join the battle of ballots.
While BJP leader and Leh Hill Development Council chairman-cum-CEC Tashi Gyalson filed his nomination yesterday, Congress leader T Namgayal, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Council submitted his papers before the Returning Officer today in Leh.
Tomorrow is last date for filing nomination papers for Ladakh seat which will go to polls in fifth phase on May 20.
BJP UT chief for Ladakh Phunchok Stanzin told the Excelsior on phone that Jamyang Tsering Namgayal has agreed to support the BJP candidate Tashi Gyalson. Namgayal will be visiting the BJP headquarters in Leh along with large number of supporters, he said.
“Namgayal will not be filing nomination papers as an Independent candidate from Ladakh,” Stanzin said.
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Namgayal’s Fan Club also made a similar announcement on its Face book page.
Namgayal had obtained the papers yesterday. He was upset with the party denying him mandate and had been visiting various areas to meet his supporters.
However, in a major political development in Kargil, KDA leader Sajjad Kargili, who finished second in 2019 Parliamentary poll, announced that he will contest the election from Ladakh seat as an Independent candidate.
“Yes, I will file the papers tomorrow as an Independent candidate,” Kargili told the Excelsior.
He said he continue to ask the KDA leadership to convene a meeting and evolve consensus on candidate. “However, when there was no response, I decided to contest the election as an Independent candidate,” he added. He expressed confidence that he raised voice of the people of Ladakh for five years and they will support him now.
Haji Hanifa Jan, whose candidature was announced by Kargil leadership of NC and Congress yesterday, is also expected to file his nomination papers tomorrow. Jan is district Kargil president of National Conference and his candidature has resulted into resentment among the Congress leadership of Leh with UT chief Rigzin Jora taking strong exception to breach of agreement reached among INDIA bloc constituents by the NC.
Jora said Ladakh seat had gone to the Congress as per the agreement and it was wrong on part of the NC to field its district president from the constituency.
Haji Mustafa, who served as Legal Advisor to Kargil Democratic Alliance, has also obtained nomination form and there were reports that he could also file the papers as an Independent candidate.
Nearly half a dozen candidates from Kargil district have taken nomination forms but the things will be clear tomorrow which is last day for filing the papers.
Things are almost clear in Leh district from where two prominent candidates are expected to be in the fray including Tashi Gyalson (BJP) and T Namgayal (Congress).
BJP won Ladakh Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and 2019. In 2014, Thupstan Chhewang won the seat for the BJP while in 2019, Jamyang Tsering Namgayal emerged the winner. The BJP this time replaced Namgayal with Tashi Gyalson.
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