Five candidates in fray for Ladakh parliamentary seat

Leh, Apr 30 (ANI): The contest for Ladakh parliamentary seat in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to be an interesting affair as five candidates will be competing to earn a berth in Lok Sabha in the ongoing general elections.

The constituency is going to polls on May 13. The contest is expected to be intense as all five candidates have a good backing of voters in their respective assembly segments.

P. Namgyal, who is contesting as a candidate of the Congress Party, is expected to face a tough challenge from Ghulam Hassan Khan, senior leader of the National Conference (NC).

Khan filed his nomination as an independent after the NC-Congress coalition decided to field a Congress candidate from the Ladakh constituency.

However, Khan is unhappy at the manner in which the Election Commission is conducting the elections in the region.

"The distance between Kargil and Leh is 250 kilometres. The moment we file the papers, we have to rush back for scrutiny. After filing the nomination, it is a 500 kilometres up and down journey.

There is no provision in the law, that if the vehicle of any candidate breaks down and he is not able reach on time, the Returning Officer will say that we are rejecting the form and you can file an appeal in the court. This is absolutely undemocratic," said Khan.

The other candidates who will battle it out from Ladakh constituency are Ghulam Murtaza of the People's Democratic Party and Independents Thinles Angmo and Asghar Ali Karbalaie.

While the three candidates will battle between themselves for the votes in Kargil segment, Namgyal and Angmo will be contesting to seek the Buddhist votes in Leh district. (ANI)