Leh: Enjoying an unchallenged dominance in Ladakh for nearly three years, the Bhartiya Janta Party may soon get an organisational rival as Congress party has finally given some attention to the newest Union Territory.
Ever since the formation of Union Territory, the Congress party was in a disarray in Ladakh even as an information unit did exist under Nawang Rigzin Jora. In absence of an organisational structure, the local leadership couldn’t build a hierarchy to have a proper decision-making process.
Upon bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, while all constitutional, governmental, non-governmental and political institutions adjusted to the new territorial realities, but the Congress party forgot to pay attention. As per the Congress constitution, they considered the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir organisational unit as representative of both new entities.
Finally, upon getting representations from Ladakh, the Congress party, at its Udaipur conclave decided to amend constitution and consider Ladakh as a separate territorial unit. Consequent to this amendment, the Congress Working Committee will also have a dedicated unit to look after affairs of Ladakh.
After this decision, the Congress leaders and workers in Ladakh will have the opportunity to organise themselves, elect the UT level, district and block level committees.
Ladakh has a number of veteran Congress leaders which include Nawang Rigzin Jora and Asghar Ali Karbalai. Rigzin Jora has remained a Minister in Jammu and Kashmir Government twice.
It may be mentioned here that Ladakh had a Territorial Congress Committee since 2020 with Nawang Rigzin Jora as its president but this didn’t have a formal approval of the Congress Working Committee and full force of the party constitution.
Once the territorial committee of the Congress is organised, the BJP may also get a proper political rival in Ladakh.
