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Kargil, May 6 : National Conference leaders and workers in Kargil have resigned en masse after National Conference High Command decided to support the ‘INDIA Block’ Congress candidate from Leh Tsering Namgayal.
Senior National Conference leader from Kargil, Qamar Ali Akhoon confirmed to the news agency Kashmir News Trust that they have resigned en-masse and sent copies of resignations to party patron Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Akhoon said that they were under tremendous pressure from the National Conference High Command to support ‘INDIA’ Block candidate from Congress who is from Leh.
“The National Conference leadership from Kargil declined to support Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal. Instead, we have supported our united Independent candidate Haji Muhammad Haneefa Jan, who is the district president National Conference,” Akhoon said adding that they will leave no stone unturned to send Haneefa Jan to the Parliament.
Ladakh is going to vote on 20 May. There was a direct contest between the BJP candidate Tashi Gyalson and Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal. Both the candidates are from the Leh region, much to the disappointment of the people of Kargil.
All the political, social, and religious bodies of Kargil including Ahil-e-Sunnat, Islamia School, and others have appealed to the people of Kargil to support the united Independent candidate Haji Muhammad Haneefa Jan. The call for support has added to the woes of both Congress and BJP candidates.
A political observer said that votes in Leh Division will divide between the BJP and the Congress and it will benefit Independent candidate Haneefa Jan. “Almost all the votes will go into the kitty of united Independent candidate in the Kargil division.
Qamar Ali Akhoon, the former Food Minister told over the phone that earlier both Congress and NC proposed Haji Haneefa Jan as a joint candidate from Ladakh Lok Sabha seat. “People of Kargil were happy that Haneefa Jan – the district president of the National Conference will face BJP’s Tashi Namgyal and we all will support him. But things changed overnight and we were shocked when Tsering Namgayal was fielded as an INDIA Block candidate,” he said.
In response to a question, Qamar Ali Akhoon said that National Conference leaders and workers have resigned from the party in the larger interest of the Kargil region. “Region comes first, and party second. We have resigned and sent letters to the party patron. Now the ball is in the court of NC High Command,” he said and hoped that their Independent candidate from Kargil would make it up to the Parliament.
In another development, two other independent candidates from Kargil Sajjad Kargali and Kacho Muhammad Feroz withdrew their nomination papers in support of Haji Muhammad Haneefa Jan.
