Leh, Jun 4 (PTI) Independent candidate Mohmad Haneefa defeated his nearest Congress rival Tsering Namgyal by a margin of 27,906 votes in the lone Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency, wresting the seat from the BJP which had won it in the past two general elections in 2014 and 2019.
Ladakh Returning Officer Santosh Sukhadeve declared Haneefa winner from the constituency after the conclusion of the counting here, stating he secured 65,303 votes against Congress rival’s 37,397. BJP’s Tashi Gyalson bagged 31,956 votes in the triangular contest, while NOTA got 912.
Haneefa (55), a resident of Barsoo area of Kargil, supported continuation of stalled dialogue with the Centre over four-point agenda of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), including statehood for the Union Territory, its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil and jobs for the local youth.
“We were hopeful of the support of the people but it was more than our expectations… I will be the voice of people within and outside the Parliament in support of our demands. We are protesting peacefully for the last four years and want the government to engage with us through dialogue to resolve our pending issues in a peaceful manner,” Haneefa told reporters after receiving the victory certificate from the returning officer.
A victory march was taken out in Kargil by the KDA with the participants demanding fulfilment of four-point demands of the people of Ladakh.
Haneefa is the fourth Independent candidate to win the seat, the largest in the country in terms of area, having more than 1.84 lakh eligible voters — a majority 95,926 in Muslim-dominated Kargil district and 88,877 in Buddhist-dominated Leh district. PTI TAS 6/2/2024 MNK MNK
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