Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 21: Reports emanating from Ladakh are not inspiring for the BJP, which says that it is in a commanding position in the state and that no government would be formed in J&K in 2019 without the BJP. Reports clearly suggest that Thupstan Chhewang, who only recently resigned both from the BJP and the Lok Sabha, "has expressed his unwillingness to rejoin the BJP and help it retain the lone Ladakh Lok Sabha seat" and that the "BJP is trying its level best to find his replacement".
Chhewang had resigned after accusing the BJP national general secretary and in-charge J&K, Ram Madhav, and J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina. He had said without mincing words that "Ram Madhav and Ravinder Raina had let down the people of Ladakh and senior BJP leader in the region by promoting sycophants". His two main grouses were that the "BJP went back on its solemn commitment that it, if voted to power, will grant UT status to Leh district within 6 weeks and also included Bhoti language in the 8thSchedule of the Indian Constitution". Chhewang had not just targeted Ram Madhav and Ravinder Raina, but also given everyone to understand that his meetings with PM Narendra Modi, HM Rajnath Singh and party chief Amit Shah had also failed to produce the desired result. His letter to the Prime Minister and BJP Amit Shah was nothing but a scathing attack on the BJP and the BJP's top leadership.
The decision of Thupstan Chhewang to not rejoin the BJP is seen as a major setback for the BJP, which needs the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat more than ever before considering the fact that the poll prospects of the BJP across India are not that bright in 2019 with all the opposition parties putting in all efforts to form what they call "Mahagathbandhan" to defeat PM Narendra Modi and the BJP. Thupstan is a top Buddhist leader and had won the Lok Sabha seat twice. It was because of his effective leadership that the BJP had created history in the region not once, but twice, first when it won the Lok Sabha seat in May 2014, and secondly, in 2015, when the BJP dislodged the well-entrenched Congress from the Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, winning 18 of 26 seats in the 30 member-House.
The decision of Thupstan Chhewang to not rejoin the BJP has not only the potential of marring the poll prospects of the party in the general elections, but also in the assembly elections whether held together with the general elections or at a later date. For, no BJP leader in Ladakh can match Chhewang.
The BJP is convinced that Chhewang quitting the BJP is a "major setback for the party" and that "it will have to go extra mile to win over the alienated Buddhists". Insiders say that "the Prime Minister," who is scheduled to visit the state and its Leh district on February 3, "might announce Divisional status for Ladakh". "Grant of Divisional status to Ladakh would be a game changer," say the insider. |
