BJP drops MP Namgyal, bets on Tashi Gyalson as Ladakh candidate

Chief executive councilor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) in Leh–Tashi Gyalson.

Amid anger among the people over denial of Sixth Schedule and statehood to the union territory of Ladakh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Tuesday, announced sitting chief executive councilor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) in Leh–Tashi Gyalson as its candidate from Ladakh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Gyalson is chairman-cum-chief executive councillor of LAHDC in Leh.

“The party high command has given me the mandate to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Ladakh,” Gyalson told HT over phone.

The party has dropped its sitting MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, apparently to soothe frayed nerves of the people.

The vast and sparsely populated strategic region of Ladakh has solitary Lok Sabha constituency.

Co-chairman of Leh Apex Body and former minister Chering Dorje Lakruk, said, “The BJP has sidelined Jamyang Tsering Namgual, probably a move to soothe frayed nerves of the people but people are still very angry with the saffron party.”

“The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance have not yet decided on consensus candidate. There is no decision yet but with today’s development, we would not chalk out further course of action,” said the former minister.

He, however, asserted that constant denial of sixth schedule and statehood to Ladakh has fuelled strong resentment among the people of Ladakh against the BJP.

The Congress hasn’t yet announced its candidate. National Conference is being part of the INDIA bloc and PDP doesn’t have strong base in Ladakh.

“Now, it has also to be seen whether Congress picks its candidate from Kargil or Leh. That would be another interesting development that would cast its impact on the elections in Ladakh,” he said.

In 2019, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal had hogged media glare for his viral speech in Lok Sabha to defend the Modi government’s decision to repeal Article 370 and make Ladakh a separate union territory.

Later, PM Modi and other BJP parliamentarians had heaped praise on Namgyal for his speech on the motion to scrap the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and a Bill to bifurcate the state into two union territories.

The polling is scheduled for May 20 in the constituency.

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