While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is utilising all resources at its command to unseat the Congress, its arch-rival, from the prestigious Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, the latter is solely depending on a “one- man army”, former minister Nawang Rigzin Jora, to counter the saffron party’s aggressive campaign.
Jora, a three-time MLA from Leh, is single-handedly leading the Congress campaign in the mountainous region where teams of leaders belonging to the BJP have fanned out in every nook and corner to make the campaign more aggressive and comprehensive. Not a single Congress leader has so far visited Leh to give a boost to the ongoing campaign, which is a clear indication that the party is solely dependent on Jora for smooth sailing.
The Congress leadership has reasons to exclusively depend on Jora because the party has no other leader who is capable of mobilising voters for the LAHDC elections, where polling will be held on October 17. In the last LAHDC elections, which were held in October 2010, Jora had proved his capability by single-handedly managing the victory of the Congress.
“We will sweep the elections comfortably because the BJP has no face to go the public,” an overconfident Jora told The Tribune. “It is not a question of retaining the LAHDC. The only issue is to further consolidate our position in this prestigious body. In the 2010 elections, we had won 21 of the 26 seats. This time, we are working assiduously to win all seats.”
Exuding confidence that the Congress would create history in the LAHDC polls, Jora argued that the BJP had betrayed the people. He said the saffron party had promised union territory status for Ladakh and opening of the Kailash Mansarovar route, but had taken a U-turn on these issues after winning the Lok Sabha elections.
Jora, who had retained the seat since 2002, said the Congress was seeking votes on the basis of its performance in the LAHDC. “Unlike the BJP, we are not making false promises to the people. We are asking for support of the people on the basis of our earlier performance,” he said.
Emboldened by its first-ever victory from the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP had utilised all its resources in the last Assembly elections, but failed to open its account in the cold desert.
Although the BJP had failed to open its account in Ladakh in the Assembly elections,it had made inroads in many areas and the fight would be very tough in the LAHDC polls this time around. At present, the Leh council is headed by Congress leader Rigzin Spalbar. Of the 26 elected members, 21 are from the Congress, four from the BJP and one an independent. There are four nominated members.
