Fight for 6th Schedule key poll plank for candidates in Ladakh

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, May 15

While the Congress (INDIA bloc) and the Independent candidate in Ladakh are campaigning for the inclusion of the Union Territory (UT) in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the BJP candidate in the region is banking on the development plank.

In the fray for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Ladakh are Congress’ Tsering Namgyal and BJP’s Tashi Gyalson, both from Leh, and Independent candidate from Kargil Haji Hanifa Jan. The seat, the largest in the country in terms of area (173.266 square kilometers), goes to polls on May 20

Namgyal and Hanifa Jan are campaigning in different parts of the Lok Sabha constituency and claiming they will fight for the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule, an issue being raised by locals for over two years. The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution guarantees land and jobs for locals.

The issue had earlier put the BJP unit of Ladakh in a difficult situation when the talks between the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs failed on March 4 this year. The delegation of two groups was holding continuous discussions with the Centre.

On the other hand, BJP’s Gyalson is banking on the development projects brought or completed in the past 10 years in the UT. Meanwhile, Hanifa Jan is also leaving no stone unturned to consolidate the vote bank in Muslim-majority Kargil. The other two candidates — Namgyal and Gyalson — are Buddhists.

Namgyal during his visit to Kargil on Tuesday met the functionaries of Jamiat Ulama Isna Ashariya, Kargil. He also met with the members of Anjuman Sofia Noorbakshia. He assured them that he would work for inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule, if voted to power.

Senior BJP leaders, including Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh (retd), Union Minister of Earth Sciences and Food Processing Industries Kiren Rijiju among others have visited Ladakh in recent times and urged the locals to vote for Gyalson. BJP’s sitting MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, who was earlier disappointed over allocation of ticket to Gyalson, is also actively campaigning now.

Gyalson is highlighting development of road connectivity and power infrastructure in the region during the past 10 years. He is also campaigning in Kargil to garner support from locals in the Muslim-dominated district.