As Ladakhi innovator Sonam Wangchuk led climate fast enters its 52nd day, the Bharatiya Janata Party's crisis in Ladakh is intensifying in the region as incumbent Member Parliament Jamyang Tsering Namgyal has asked the BJP to brace for the worst in the parliamentary polls.
Soon after the announcement Jamyang took to social media and said he had communicated his "disagreement" to the party leadership through proper channels regarding this "injustice" to a dedicated 'karyakarta'.
“Today, the BJP announced a new candidate for the Ladakh Parliamentary Constituency, replacing the sitting MP without providing transparent and compelling justification. I have communicated my disagreement to the party leadership through proper channels regarding this injustice to a dedicated Karyakarta. Hundreds of BJP activists and my supporters from across Ladakh have also voicing their disapproval with this decision. We will carefully evaluate the situation and determine our next course of action, keeping the well-being of the people of Ladakh at the forefront,” Jamyang said in his facebook post.
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However, on Sunday on his visit to Kargil, he spoke against the decision. "There is a way to make a decision. Is there any anti-incumbency in Ladakh? Have I failed to reach out to any region? Were voters against us?" Jamyang told media persons in Kargil.
"Have I failed to highlight Ladakh's issues in the Parliament, or have I deviated from the party's ideology? I seek clarity on the reasons behind this. In the next four days, I will wait for their response, and based on that, I will make my decision."
“Tashi Gyalson received the party's mandate, and I have no personal animosity towards him. We have been good friends; in fact, I brought him into the party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I appointed him as the party's Ladakh general secretary and facilitated his selection as chairman of the LAHDC," Jamyang said.
Gyalson previously served as the PDP's district president in Leh before joining the BJP.
"He (Gyalson) remains a friend and I hold no grudge against him. I wish him the best," Jamyang added. “Hope for the best and at the same time prepare for the worst.”
This is happening when the region is witnessing a prolonged “climate fast” movement led by Wangchuk seeking the Sixth Schedule and statehood.
On March 26, when Wangchuk concluded his 21-day climate fast, he declared that the people of Ladakh would remain steadfast in their commitment to protest. After him, women from the region initiated a ten-day hunger strike seeking the government's pledge to extend the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh.
Subsequently, the “fasting movement” gained momentum as youths, monks, and elders joined in. On Sunday, Wangchuk announced the conclusion of the monks' fast, announcing that the minority groups would now undertake a ten-day fast in the continuity of the protest.
Early this month Wangchuk announced that he'd lead a march called the Pashmina march to the Changthang region to show how Ladakh's grazing lands were shrinking as big Indian companies were taking them. But when the government announced to impose imposed Section 144 in Leh, he called off the march.
With resentment growing in Leh, the nomination of Tashi Gyalson by the BJP seems an interesting move. Many observers say that the BJP wanted to regain its position in the region with the incumbent MP’s replacement. But it is a hard task, they say.
The Congress is yet to reveal its candidate but the party will receive support from the National Conference, an ally of the INDIA bloc.
In 2019, Namgyal gained widespread attention for his impassioned speech in the Lok Sabha defending the Modi government’s decision to revoke Article 370 and establish Ladakh as a separate Union Territory. "If Ladakh remains underdeveloped today, then Article 370 and the Congress party bear responsibility," the MP had said at that time.
Later Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP parliamentarians lauded Namgyal for his speech during the motion to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and pass a bill to split the state into two Union territories.
On the second anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, he penned a column in the national daily, "Since Ladakh was designated a Union Territory, it feels like the government has drawn closer to the people."
Soon after the abrogation of Article 370, Leh celebrated the decision. However, a year following the repeal of Article 370, the political landscape in Leh underwent significant changes with the formation of the Apex Body of Leh, a grouping of various political and religious parties of Leh. The Leh Apex body started advocating for constitutional safeguards to protect the local population, seeking the implementation of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Later on September 3, 2021, the BJP-led LAHDC Leh passed a resolution urging for safeguards either under Article 371 of the Constitution of India, the Sixth Schedule, or domicile laws to uphold the tribal rights of the indigenous people of Ladakh.
However, Kargil has consistently opposed the abrogation of Article 370 and the division of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
In January last year, the Kargil Democratic Alliance, established in 2020, joined forces with the Leh Apex Body to articulate a four-point demand. These demands include statehood for Ladakh, constitutional protections under the Sixth Schedule, the establishment of a Public Service Commission, and the creation of two distinct parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil.
On April 13 of this year, Wangchuk claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had informed Ladakh leaders during a March 4 meeting in New Delhi that the prospects of Ladakh obtaining Sixth Schedule status or statehood were bleak.
Before this, on February 19, a Ministry of Home Affairs sub-committee held a productive meeting in New Delhi with Ladakh leaders. However, following the March 4 meeting, no further discussions took place. In response, Wangchuk initiated a 21-day climate fast as a form of protest, which has since taken various forms.
Now with the BJP nominating Tashi Gyalson as its candidate, all are waiting for the INDIA alliance candidate. Intensive discussions are underway in Kargil and Leh to determine a consensus candidate.
