SRINAGAR: In Ladakh Lok Sabha seat where three candidates are in the fray, the INDIA alliance parties have landed in a spot as both National Conference and Congress units in Kargil district have revolted against their parties and backed an independent candidate, an NC leader Haji Hanifa Jan.
NC’s Kargil unit has resigned enmasse instead of backing the INDI Alliance candidate from Leh district while the Congress unit is refusing to support the party candidate.
The Ladakh Lok Sabha seat, the largest in the country with a total area of 173.266 sq km and 1, 82, 571 voters including 91,703 males and 90,867 female voters, is set to go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20.
There are three candidates in the fray from the seat — BJP’s Tashi Gyalson, Congress’s Tsering Namgyal and Haji Haneefa Jan, an independent candidate field jointly by NC and Congress leadership of Kargil district. While Gyalson and Namgyal hail from Leh district, Haneefa Jan belongs to Kargil.
Ladakh UT, which was carved out from bifurcation of erstwhile J&K state after Article 370 abrogation, comprises Buddhists dominated Leh and Muslims dominated Kargil.
Of the total 1,82,571 electorate in Ladakh, Kargil has 95,929 votes while Leh has 88,870.
The BJP initially faced rebellion from its sitting MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal after he was denied a mandate from the seat by the party.