Early Times: Leading Newspaper Jammu Kashmir, Latest News about Jammu & Kashmir

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Ladakh: BJP drops Namgyal, fields Tashi

Early Times Report Vindicated

Early Times Report

Jammu, Apr 23: Decision of the BJP to drop outspoken sitting Lok Sabha member Jamyang Tsering Namgyal and field Chief Executive Councilor (CEC) LAHDC-Leh authenticated Early Times report.
This newspaper in its March 20 edition reported that the BJP was moving cautiously on the Ladakh seat and the party was seriously thinking of replacing the sitting Lok Sabha member Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
On Tuesday, the Central Election Committee of the BJP cleared the name of Tashi Gyalson for the Ladakh Lok Sabha which was won by the party in two successive elections of 2014 and 2019.
Tashi Gyalson is the Chief Executive Councilor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh.
Interestingly, in the year 2019 when Jamyang Tsering Namgyal was given the party mandate in place of Thupstang Chewang he was also CEC of LAHDC Leh.
There was uncertainty over the repetition of Namgyal’s candidature from day one when the first list of BJP candidates was released by the Central Election Committee of the party.
Names of two sitting MPs namely Dr. Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma were repeated but the name of Namgyal was missing.
Over the past month, uncertainty surrounding the BJP candidate selection for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat. This uncertainty stems from the dissatisfaction expressed by Ladakh residents regarding the leadership style of Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
Over the two years, Ladakh residents have fervently advocated for inclusion under the sixth schedule and statehood. However, Namgyal has seemingly neglected to engage with these agitations, causing further discontent among the populace.
Sources within the BJP have revealed that the party's central leadership is perturbed by Namgyal’s perceived self-importance, particularly following his impassioned speech in the Lok Sabha after the abrogation of Article 370.
This perceived detachment has allowed opposition leaders from Congress and the National Conference to take control of the ongoing agitation in Ladakh.
A senior BJP leader, speaking anonymously to the Early Times, lamented that instead of bridging the gap through dialogue with agitators in Ladakh, Namgyal often remains in Delhi. This lack of direct engagement has allowed the agitation to escalate unchecked in the cold desert region.