Ladakh braces for a three-corner fight against the backdrop of demand for statehood

Ladakh will vote on May 20.

Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency, the largest in the country in terms of area, will be privy to the first major electoral contest after it was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir and granted Union Territory status in 2019. Ladakh will vote on May 20.

What was initially touted to be a two-way fight, a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, the parliamentary seat is now a three-corner fight with an alliance of local groups fielding an Independent to challenge the national parties.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is on a firefighting mode as resentment against the saffron party over its government at the Centre for allegedly not fulfilling the demands is palpable. The saffron party, eyeing a third consecutive term from Ladakh, has rushed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to handle the situation.

Over the last few months, Ladakh witnessed widespread shutdown as thousands participated in marches, advocating for statehood and constitutional protections under the sixth schedule for the Union Territory.

How the candidates are pitted against each other

While the saffron party has fielded Tashi Gyalson, chief executive councilor-cum-chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Leh), from the seat after dropping sitting MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the Congress has nominated Tsering Namgyal as its candidate. In a surprise move, the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) fielded Haji Haneefa Jan, the Kargil district president of the National Conference (NC), which like the Congress is a constituent of the INDIA bloc.

The BJP had won the Ladakh seat for the first time in 2014, with prominent Buddhist leader Thupstan Chhewang becoming an MP. Chhewang, however, resigned from the post and BJP in 2018, citing disagreements with the party’s leadership. In 2019, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the BJP won the seat.

Ladakh Hill Development Council results

Political observers believe that the results thrown up in the Ladakh Hill Development Council (LAHDC-K) elections will make it a tough task for the BJP to retain the Lok Sabha seat of Ladakh in the upcoming 2024 elections. The BJP was able to win just two seats out of 26 constituencies that went to polls on October 4, 2023.

The victory margin on the two seats of Cha and Stakchay Khangral constituencies was not significant for the party. The BJP won the Cha constituency by a margin of 234 votes and the Stakchay Khangral by 177 votes.

Congress’ four-point agenda

Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal is contesting the election on a four-point agenda for the Union territory, the key among which is the fight for implementation of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution that guarantees land and job for the locals. The four-point agenda also includes statehood demand, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.

The Congress has won the seat for the highest number of times -- six -- and had fielded Tsering Namgyal, the leader of opposition in the LAHDC, according to an agreement with the NC, as they were members of the INDIA bloc and the Leh Apex Body (LAB).

Spate of protests

The political landscape of Ladakh has been roiled by nearly two months of protests led by activist Sonam Wangchuk, culminating in a 21-day climate fast. Demonstrations, commencing on March 6 and concluding on May 10 to pave the way for parliamentary polls saw a turnout of around 50,000 people, representing a substantial portion of Ladakh’s population.

NC leaders resign en masse

National Conference leaders and workers in Kargil have resigned en masse after National Conference High Command decided to support the ‘INDIA Block’ Congress candidate from Leh Tsering Namgayal. As part of the seat-sharing agreement between the NC and Congress, Ladakh has gone to the Congress, which nominated Tsering Namgyal. However, a day prior, the Kargil units of both parties had announced NC district president Haji Mohammad Hanifa Jan as a consensus candidate.

In the last five general elections since 1999, the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat has been represented by candidates from the NC, once by Independent candidate Thupstan Chhewang, who is now associated with the BJP, and more recently by the BJP's Jamyang Tsering Namgyal. Four of the five times, the MP has been from the Buddhist-dominated Leh region.

The two regions are demographically different and politically at odds, converging only recently over the core issue of seeking protections under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for Ladakh.