Rustam
JAMMU, Aug 29: The Valley-based National Conference (NC), which dominated the Kargil's political scene since 1951, when elections to the Jammu and Kashmir constituent-cum-Legislative Assembly elections were held, on Wednesday suffered a massive defeat in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil elections, held on August 22. The NC, which had been heading the LAHDC Kargil since 2003, could win only 8 seats, as against its 2008 tally of 18. It means it lost as many as 10 seats, thus making it clear that the NC has lost its sheen and appeal even in Kargil, which was considered to be its pocket borough. The humiliating defeat of the NC in Kargil could be construed as a vote against its divisive and communal ideology and vote for the mainstream politics.
Surprisingly, the Congress, on the other hand, improved its 2009 tally of 8 by three seats. It won 11 seats and emerged as the single largest party. The emergence of Congress as a single largest party in the LAHDC Kargil is surprising in the sense that it is part of the NC-led coalition Government. It appears that the people of Kargil, predominantly Shiite Muslims, were apparently more angry with the NC, as it had been in the driver's seat causing harm to them. It also appears that certain local factors and local leaders of the Shiite community have helped the Congress emerge as the single largest group in the LAHDC Kargil.
The LAHDC Kargil has 30 members. Twenty-six of them are elected every five years, while the State Government has the power to nominate four members of different categories to the Council. The nominated members do not have the right to vote. Two out of 26 members won the election unopposed. The remaining three won the election as independent candidates. Since 14 councilors constitute a simple majority, that is needed to capture the autonomous council, the Congress is better placed, as it requires only three councilors to reach the right number. The NC, on the contrary, needs 6. It is obvious that the NC, which is heading the coalition Government, would do all that it could to retain control over the autonomous council for obvious reasons. To be more precise, it would use all available means to induce independent councilors to help it capture the council - something the local Congress leadership would not appreciate.
The verdict is fractured and, hence, the Congress would see to it that it leads the autonomous council. Which means a tussle between the Congress and the NC is in the offing. This tussle would not only adversely impact the already very delicate and complicated relations between the two coalition partners in Kargil district alone, but also the relations between the two at the State level. There are many Congress leaders across the state who do not see eye to eye with the NC and, hence, the coming days would see both the parties taking on each other. In any case, the NC is at the receiving end with the working president of the NC and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah must be feeling shaken. |
