Party use union ministers for poll campaign, lure voters in cold desert
Tasaduq Hussain
Leh : To keep the grip on Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) intact, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been tried hard to lure voters in Buddhist dominated area by using the Union Minister’s in the poll campaign.
The BJP unit of Leh believes that it’s the must win election for the party and it is a matter of honor and in case they fail to secure a huge majority party won’t be able to face central leadership since it is the maiden election after Ladakh got UT status.
Sources told, that big names that include Mukthar Abbas Naqvi (Union minister for minority affairs), Kiren Rijiju (Union minister of state for youth services and sports), Anurag Thakur (Union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs) along with the party MP from region Jamyang Namgyal have been part of the poll campaigning in Leh.
They said that the union ministers visited the remotest places in the Buddhist dominated Leh and interacted with the voters to seek votes for their candidates for the ensuing 6th general LADHC polls.
More than a year after the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, the maiden Ladakh Autonomous Hill development Council (LAHDC) polls evoked huge response after the different political parties, student bodies under the supervision of veteran leader’s called for complete poll boycott to demand for 6th schedule for Ladakh to ensure everything is exclusively available for the permanent residents only.
Administration has scheduled the most awaited LAHDC, election in two phases that include the first round of poll date on 13 and 14 October for specially-abled and elderly over 65 years-old and the final phase on 22nd October.
The BJP led government in Ladakh is using every tactic to secure a win in the maiden election in the newly created union territory of Ladakh by inviting union ministers in the BJP led Central government.
Earlier the poll campaigning for BJP was officially launched by MoS, Anurag Thakur in presence of MP Jamyang Namgyal.
The leaders, sources said, visited the areas like Chuchot, Nang, Thicksey, Stakmo, Upper leh, Wanla and Funjila where they addressed the public gatherings and sought vote and support for their candidates.
Former minister and Ex BJP chief Ladakh UT, Chering Dorjay told KNO that the union ministers would never before campaign for the local election like LADHC since they used to visit solely for Lok Sabha elections.
“Anyone coming from outside to campaign isn’t that impactful here in the region”, he said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Official spokesman, Rinchen Namgyal told KNO that anyone coming from outside doesn’t know about the pain of local populace and they leave after making fake promises also it won’t impact the regional political parties in any manner.
Regions senior political leader, Rigzin Spalbar who served as two time CEC, Leh, and has remained part of active council for more than 20 years regularly, told KNO that BJP has always been aggressive with the campaigning and in last LAHDC elections a wide number of leaders were stationed here for long but ‘it’s very rare that union ministers have come to campaign for LAHDC election.’
Terming the win important for BJP unit in Leh, Nawang Sawastan, district president of BJP, Leh, told KNO that in the past one year there is nothing that NDA government led by BJP hasn’t given to the region especially the UT status and development with several new projects announced.
To a question about the maiden poll campaign by union ministers in Leh for the LAHDC election, he said that first time after the UT status “we are going for LAHDC election after doing so much for the region it has been challenging for us.”
“If we fail to secure win on all 26 seats then what face will show to the central government. Our government will be giving the provision of safeguard to the region for that we (BJP) want to win LAHDC election with huge majority”, he said—(KNO)
