Three Lok Sabha candidates from the Ladakh parliamentary seat have asked the Election Commission of India to hold re-polling in 54 booths in Zanskar sub-division, alleging “mass bogus voting”.
Out of four candidates in the fray, three candidates — Congress’s Rigzin Spalbar and independents Sajjad Hussain and Asgar Ali Karbalia — wrote a joint letter on May 20 to the Chief Election Officer in Srinagar and sought re-poll. Fourth candidate in the fray is Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the BJP.
“Persecution and intimidation by religious bodies to garner votes is unconstitutional. It has diluted the spirit of democracy on a scale not witnessed before in Ladakh,” read the letter.
The three candidates alleged that they made repeated representations to the EC over how two religious bodies, Ladakh Buddhist Association-Zanskar and Zanskar Gonpa Association, disallowed other parties to campaign in Zanskar’s sub-division.
