NEW DELHI: With the INDIA Bloc falling apart not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also in Ladakh, the crisis has further deepened as political faultlines are intersecting with the regional faultlines that divide the cold desert region between the two districts – Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil.
Congress and National Conference, both parts of the INDIA Bloc, decided to support Tsering Namgyal, leader of the opposition in Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Tashi Gyalson, who is the sitting Chief Executive Councillor of LAHDC in Leh.
Tensions again came to the fore over the choice of Tsering Namgyal, Congress nominee from Leh, resulting in renewed divisions between Muslims and Buddhists. Congress was supposed to field candidates as per their seat-sharing arrangement in the INDIA Bloc in consultation with their local units in Leh and Kargil.
The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) rallied behind Mohammad Haneefa Jan, an independent candidate from Kargil. Jan, formerly with the NC, emerged as a consensus candidate supported by various political and religious groups including NC and Congress units in Kargil.
The situation became more critical when in response to National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s intervention and warning of strict action against party members, who go against the alliance’s unity and decision, the National Conference (NC) leadership in Kargil resigned en masse to back Jan.
Earlier, Sajjad Kargili of the Kargil Democratic Alliance withdrew his candidacy in support of Jan.
In defiance of the high command, the Congress’ Kargil unit has also thrown its weight behind Hanifa, which has complicated the situation for the NC-Congress alliance that was hoping to make big electoral gains out of the anger in Ladakh against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government.
The anger has been highly visible since March 6, 2024 when the prominent environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk began 21-day long hunger strike followed by chain-hunger strike and was supported by youth, women and religious leaders from both Leh and Kargil districts.
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It was earlier expected that the emerging grassroots movement in Ladakh for the region’s statehood, Sixth Schedule and environmental safeguards, which witnessed unprecedented unity recently, would play a key role in the elections.
If the electoral contest would play around the sub-regional and religious faultlines, these local issues are likely to take a backseat, underscoring Ladakh’s complex regional dynamics.
As the Ladakh Lok Sabha election intensifies into a three-way battle, Buddhist leaders in Leh are striving to reconcile the BJP and Congress contenders to avoid splitting the community’s votes.
Efforts led by Ladakh Buddhist Association President Chering Dorjey Lakrook and former MP Thuptsan Chhewang aim to unite the community behind one candidate. Chhewang’s viral video expresses concern over the potential loss of the seat if divided.
Ladakh, among the most sparsely populated areas globally, maintains a delicate balance where Muslims hold a slight majority over Buddhists. The Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency saw victories by Jamyang Tsering Namgyal in the 2019 parliamentary election and Thupstan Chhewang in 2014.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Tsering Samphel represented the Congress while Ghulam Raza ran independently. Similarly, in 2019, Rigzin Saplbar represented the Congress while Asgar Ali Karbalai contested independently.
The abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, exacerbated the division between Muslims and Buddhists. Leh celebrated its separation from Jammu and Kashmir, a demand it had pursued for nearly two decades, while the Muslim-majority Kargil mourned.
Following the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule, the National Conference (NC) nominated candidates for three Kashmir seats, while the Congress fielded candidates for two seats in Jammu and one in Ladakh, as per their seat-sharing agreement.
In the previous year, the NC-Congress coalition secured a landslide victory in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Kargil (LAHDC-K), winning 22 out of 26 seats, contrasting with the BJP’s two seats. In LAHDC-Leh polls in 2020, the BJP won 15 seats, Congress secured nine, and independents claimed the remaining two.
A significant development in Ladakh is the emerging regional shift, where divisions are not solely political but also along Kargil versus Leh lines. This trend emerged intriguingly just a month after the region demonstrated remarkable unity in demanding statehood, inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, protection of identity and rights, employment opportunities, allocation of two Lok Sabha seats per district, and environmental safeguards.
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