Kargil: It appears the development plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has helped the BJP win a seat for the first time in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections held recently.
Stanzin Lakpa of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won from the Cha (Zanskar) constituency of Kargil. This raises the party's hope to strengthen its ground in this distinct region of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Situated on the heights of the Himalayas, Kargil came to limelight in 1999 when Pakistan Army was given a bloody nose by the Indian Army after the perennially hostile country, with the help of terrorists, had intruded into positions on the hills that the Indian Army vacates every winter.
The local residents of Kargil continued to face neglect under successive regimes but their long cherished demand of connectivity with the rest of the country saw the light of the day when no less than Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the much-needed Zojila Tunnel on 19 May.
“The people of Kargil were neglected by the UPA government, the National Conference and Congress in the State, but the BJP under the leadership of PM Modi and party president Amit Shah boosted developmental work across the country. Kargil, which was long neglected, benefitted due to this. After Leh-Ladakh, our next target is Kashmir where we will mark our presence,” BJP State President Ravinder Raina told MyNation.
The BJP Jammu and Kashmir unit president said that getting a maiden seat was an achievement for the party, too, as never in the past the party had won in the area.
Speaking to MyNation, Mohammed Hussain, a local resident, said, “People here are thankful to the PM for the Zojila Tunnel. We always demanded a year-long connectivity with the rest of the country. We are hopeful for more new projects in our area including the expansion of Kargil Airport which is long overdue. We have voted for PM Modi's developmental face, not for the local leadership.”
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