The Ladakh Lok Sabha seat is poised for a tricky showdown as sitting BJP MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal has decided to run as an Independent and the National Conference is pressurising its INDIA Bloc partner Congress to field a candidate from Kargil rather than Leh.
Reportedly miffed at the BJP for being replaced by Tashi Gyalson as its candidate for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat Namgyal has issued a veiled threat to the BJP, telling his supporters to "hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) are allegedly planning to endorse the INDIA bloc candidate in Ladakh.
According to a senior LAB member, the KDA has already made it clear that it will side with the Opposition (Congress) if it fields a Muslim candidate from Kargil.
"This is done to ensure that votes are not divided. “We will also support the candidate from Kargil," the leader added.
Namgyal told reporters in Kargil that he had requested senior party leaders to explain why he had been replaced as the party's candidate.
"There is no anti-incumbency sentiment; the party workers support me. I represented Ladakh in parliament. I am currently investigating the cause for the party's choice to replace me," he said.
The incumbent MP said, “I will decide in the coming days." I have nothing against Gyalson, whom I recruited from the PDP to the BJP.
Namgyal said he was the one who had helped Gyalson become the chairman of LAHDC. If the party's system had operated correctly, the problem would not have gone from bd to worse.
Meanwhile, with the delay in selecting candidates, NC officials in Kargil are now asking the Congress to field a Muslim candidate from the area rather than a Buddhist candidate from Leh, putting the national party in a difficult situation.
However, Both the LAB and KDA have been protesting against the BJP-led Centre for Ladakh's Sixth Schedule status and statehood.
Negotiations between the delegations of two parties and the Ministry of Home Affairs have already ended in a deadlock.
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