Srinagar, June 4: In a setback to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Ladakh, a rebel National Conference leader and Independent candidate Mohammad Haneefa Jan won the Parliamentary constituency seat defeating his nearest Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal by a margin of 27,862 votes.
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This was the first Lok Sabha election after Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union territory in August 2019.
According to the officials Haneefa, defeated his nearest rival Tsering Namgyal of Congress and Tashi Gyalson of BJP in a triangular contest. Haneefa wrested the seat from BJP.
The winning candidate Haneefa bagged 65,259 votes, while his nearest rival Namgyal bagged 37,397 votes. BJP’s Gyalson stood third and secured 31,956 votes.
BJP’s Tashi Gyalson, who is also the chief executive councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Leh), had replaced the sitting MP Jamyang Namgyal.
In both 2014 and 2019 elections, the BJP had won the Ladakh seat, then a part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Over the last two years, Ladakh witnessed a series of protests over the demands of Statehood and constitutional guarantees under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah expressed happiness for Haneefa.
“@HajiHanifa I’m really very happy for you today. A few months ago you tasted defeat in the hill council elections & now you will represent Ladakh, especially the marginalised people of Kargil in the Lok Sabha. Your victory cost @JKNC_ it’s Kargil unit but it was well worth the price”, Omar said in a Tweet on X.
Omar was referring to mass resignations of its Kargil unit after the party directed its cadre to support Congress candidate in Ladakh.
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