M A I N   N E W S

Poll heat peaks in high-altitude Ladakh battle
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service

Kargil, May 2
With three days for the end of campaigning, candidates for the May 7 Lok Sabha election are sweating it out in the cool climes of Ladakh. It’s an uphill task to reach out to the segment’s 1.59 lakh voters scattered across 1.73 lakh sqkm in the Himalayan ranges and all four candidates are racing against time.

Ladakh constituency comprises the districts of Leh and Kargil and constitutes two-thirds of the geographical area of Jammu and Kashmir. The country's largest parliamentary constituency (in terms of area) is home to 80,994 male and 78,637 female voters.

There are four candidates in the fray: Tsering Samphel (Congress), Thupstan Chhewang (BJP), Aga Syed Kazim Sabri (Independent backed by Islamiya School, Kargil, and National Conference), Ghulam Raza (Independent backed by Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust and Congress’ Kargil unit).

According to the Election Commission, the seat is spread over 1.73 lakh sq km, but Pakistan and China illegally occupy 78,114 sqkm and 37,555 sqkm of the region, respectively.

Nawang Rigzin Jora, minister in the Omar government and senior Congress leader from Leh, has been canvassing for party candidate Tsering Samphel but hasn’t covered all areas. "I’ve been campaigning in Leh for 25 days, but am yet to cover all habitations. I hope to cover 80 per cent habitations by May 4. It is very difficult to reach out due to the tough topography.”

Tsering Samphel, who is covering 10 to 12 villages a day, said, "I am campaigning in Kargil district for the first time today, with just three days left for campaigning. It is not possible to reach out to all voters." Rebel Congress candidate Ghulam Raza, too, struggled to reach out to the electorate. “I have covered Kargil district except for three blocks. I couldn’t campaign in Leh except in some villages when I went to file my papers there.”

BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang was campaigning in far-off villages of Leh and couldn’t be reached, but Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state chief Ravinder Raina said, “The terrain and conditions make campaigning very tough.”