by Syed Shadab Ali Gillani
SRINAGAR: In anticipation of the INDIA bloc announcing its candidate for Ladakh, a local grouping of the National Conference (NC) and the Congress in Kargil jointly fielded JKNC’s Kargil district president and former councillor, Haji Hanifa Jan. They said Haji is a consensus candidate for the region.
However, the Congress High Command has yet to make a formal announcement about the same. There are apprehensions that the decision may impact the unity of the region, in case, the Leh part of the loose regional alliance insists on a candidate from Leh.
If sources are to be believed, the Kargil unit of Congress and the National Conference have reached a consensus over the name of former councillor and senior NC leader Haji Hanifa Jan for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat. The two parties are contesting in alliance “to ensure the defeat of the BJP candidate Tashi Gyalson.”.
“We have finalised the name of Haji Hanifa Jan for the Ladakh seat, and he will be the joint candidate of two parties (Congress and NC),” Qamar Ali Akhoon, former minister and senior leader of the NC, confirmed, as per media reports.
In a press conference, Feroz Kachroo, Congress leader, stated that keeping in mind the interests of Leh and Kargil, “we have decided to field Haji Hanifa Jan as our joint candidate from the Ladakh parliamentary constituency. Our leaders are presently in Delhi for a meeting with the AICC, and we hope that the mandate will be given to Haji Hanifa as our candidate.”
Kachroo said that Haji candidature is regardless of everything. “If there are any unfortunate circumstances, Haji Hanifa will still be our candidate for this constituency because it is our joint decision and we have taken this decision after consulting every stakeholder.”
Sajjad Kargili, a senior leader of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), however, sought to clarify that the NC and the Congress did not consult the KDA leaders before finalising their candidate.
“I’ve been receiving numerous calls asking whether the Kargil Democratic Alliance has been consulted regarding the selection of the Ladakh Lok Sabha candidate. As a core committee member of the Kargil Democratic Alliance, I’d like to clarify that both JKNC and INC India have independently selected their candidates for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat within their respective parties. As of now, not a single meeting of the KDA was held on this matter,” Kargili wrote on ‘X’.
CLARIFICATION:
I’ve been receiving numerous calls asking whether the Kargil Democratic Alliance has been consulted regarding the selection of the Ladakh Lok Sabha candidate.
As a core committee member of the #Kargil Democratic Alliance, I’d like to clarify that both @JKNC_ and…
— Sajjad Kargili | سجاد کرگلی (@SajjadKargili_) April 30, 2024
It is to be kept in mind that for the past several days, the leaders of these two political parties have held several meetings in this regard, and in the meantime, debates and speculations about the MP candidate have continued to make rounds on social media in Kargil.
BJP represented the region in the Lok Sabha but the party has decided to change the candidate. This has resulted in Tsering Namgyal to contest as an independent candidate.
