The Hindu : Front Page : Uphill task for Congress candidate in Ladakh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 26, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Uphill task for Congress candidate in Ladakh

Shujaat Bukhari

The situation in Leh is not in favour of the Congress candidate
The Congress is contesting the elections in alliance with NC

SRINAGAR: With rebel candidates of both the National Conference and the Congress contesting in Ladakh, it will be an uphill task for the official Congress candidate, P. Namgayal. The Congress is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the NC.

The former MP, Hassan Khan, who is a National Conference leader and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998, has rebelled against his party and filed nomination for the seat which goes to polls in the last phase on May 13. Likewise, Ghulam Reza of the Congress has also filed his nomination for the seat. In addition, Asghar Karbalie, a former Chief Executive of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, is among the 16 candidates in the fray in the constituency.

Change in trend

Ladakh has traditionally been a Congress seat but in 1989, following communal clashes, the trend was reversed when Muslims threw their weight behind Mohammad Hassan and sent him to Parliament as an Independent. However, it was Agha Hussain, a National Conference-sponsored candidate, who won the elections in 1996. While Leh district is predominantly Buddhist, Kargil has a majority of Shia Muslims. But in the past few years two important schools of Shias in Kargil — the Islamia School and the Imam Khumeini Memorial Trust (IKMT) — have played a major role in ensuring candidates’ victory.

Effort in vain

This time the NC tried hard to get the seat from the Congress as part of its share, but in vain. The NC supporters were expected to throw their weight behind Congress candidate Namgayal, but it seems that he is losing support even from the Congress, as Ghulam Reza, who was earlier cleared as party candidate, has filed his nomination. While Mr. Khan enjoys the support of the Islamia School, Mr. Karbalie is reportedly sponsored by the IKMT. “If all of them are in the fray it may help someone else to emerge victorious,” says Khawja Hussain, a Kargil resident.

However, the situation in Leh itself is not in favour of the Congress candidate as the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) has fielded Lama Lopzang as its candidate. In 2004, LUTF ideologue Thupstan Chhewang was elected. He lost the Leh Assembly seat to the Congress’s Nawang Rigzin Jora in the December elections. Even as the NC has not yet sought explanation from Mr. Khan, the Congress has also not indicated action against Mr. Reza. Union Minister Saifuddin Soz admitted that he was the official candidate but said the “Islamia school was trying to dictate terms by fielding Ghulam Hassan Khan. We have to secure the party interests and wanted guarantees [of support] which were not coming from Kargil.”

‘A broken man’

On Mr. Reza filing papers, Mr. Khan said “even Congress president Sonia Gandhi had cleared his name but we had to drop him. He must be a broken man but he was ditched by the Islamia school and not the party.”

Interestingly Mr. Karbalie also owes allegiance to the Congress and he was heading the Council in the past as a Congress leader.

But sources say they might have been fielded by the Congress to upset the chances of Mr. Khan by dividing Muslim votes.

The former MLA from Nobra and a respected politician, Pintoo Narboo, says it has turned out to be a murky situation.

“Mr. Namgayal and Mr. Lopzang have always together fought against the NC for what they call its communal politics, but they are now in the race to get elected to Parliament,” he said adding that Mr. Khan’s entry will certainly have an impact on the outcome.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page