The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : The campaign in Ladakh is as quiet as the hills

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Thursday, May 06, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

The campaign in Ladakh is as quiet as the hills

Aarti Dhar

LEH

There are flags all over but none of them represents a political party. The traditional religious flags and buntings flutter atop homes, viharas and commercial establishments seem to leave no space for anything else. No hoardings, no banners, no overt attempts to attract the voters. The campaign is limited to a few posters on the main door of the houses, shops and other public places. Occasionally, an appeal over a loudspeaker pierces the silence.

With heights ranging from 12,000 ft to 17,000 ft above sea level and an area spread over 45,110 sq km, campaigning in the Ladakh parliamentary constituency is not an easy business. Inhospitable terrain and bone-chilling winds restrict movement.

Another reason for the low-key campaign could be the lack of competition. Only four candidates are in the fray. Much is at stake for Thupstan Chhewang, an independent candidate who is also chairperson of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). Backed by the Ladakh United Territory Front (LUTF) — a political body fighting for Union Territory status for Ladakh — Mr. Chhewang was elected uncontested from the Leh Assembly seat in 2002. While he is on a strong wicket in Leh and Nubra, he faces a challenged from the sitting MP, Hassan Khan of the National Conference, who has a strong following in Kargil among the large Muslim population.

Several Muslims also support the demand for UT status to Ladakh and Mr. Chhewang has made Kargil and Zanskar the focus of his campaign. In Leh, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Sonam Paljore, could cut a little into his votes but the party does not have much of a presence here. "The only issue is the UT status," says P.T. Kunzang, general secretary of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), which began the movement for UT status in the early 1990s. Development and others things will follow UT status, he says. However, as the movement spread, several Muslim organisations such as the Ladakh Muslim Association, Immamia School and the Anjuman Moin-ul-Islam joined hands to consolidate the Muslim population, resulting in the virtual polarisation of the electorate along religious lines.

The scene is more lively in the Kargil Assembly segment. Not because of the Kargil war — it is all history now — but because all candidates are putting all their efforts into wooing over the voters.

The election scene is dominated by the local leaders; national figures such as the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi are nowhere in the picture.

Traditionally a Congress bastion, the candidates are having a hard time, particularly in rural areas, persuading people to vote for a symbol other than the `hand'. "All these years, they have been voting for the `hand' symbol without even knowing the name of the party, but now they do not find the symbol there," says a supporter of Mr. Chhewang.

If campaigning is difficult for the voters, conducting the election process is a Herculean task for the administration. Comprising four Assembly segments and about 1.8 lakh voters, the highest polling station in the constituency is situated at a height of 17,000 ft in Nubra where there are 32 voters.

The smallest number of voters — just seven — are in Thukjay Gonpa in Leh. As many as 14 polling stations are snow bound in Kargil and Zanskar, where election material will be air-dropped with the help of the Indian Air Force.

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