Tihar Ka Badla Vote Se: Engineer Rashid Rallies Voters in Kashmir Elections
The slogan "Tihar ka badla vote se" resonated across north Kashmir as Engineer Rashid made his first visit to Baramulla after his surprise win in the Lok Sabha elections. The Baramulla MP has spent the last five years in Delhi’s Tihar jail on charges of terror funding. He is currently out on bail to campaign for his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. In Baramulla, Rashid rallied the crowd with chants of, “Tihar ka badla, vote se. Goli ka badla, vote se. UAPA ka badla, vote se. Zulm ka badla, vote se (we’ll take revenge for Tihar, bullets, UAPA, and oppression through votes)," reminiscent of the “jail ka badla, vote se” slogan his supporters raised during the Lok Sabha elections, which he contested from jail. Rashid defeated National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Baramulla. Ajaz Guru, the elder brother of Afzal Guru, ran as an independent candidate from Sopore, a region traditionally known for separatist sentiment. Afzal Guru was executed and buried in Tihar jail on February 9, 2013 after being convicted of the 2001 Parliament attack. Locals in Sopore spoke with Outlook on the "Tihar ka badla vote se" slogan. Mubashir Ahmed Wani, a political science graduate, said that it represents a broader call for justice for all Kashmiris languishing in various jails across the country; it stands for peace and a Kashmir where people can vote freely. The assembly election, the first in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, was held in three phases. It is also the region's first election in a decade. The results will be announced on October 8.
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