• About Us
  • Cancellation and refund policy
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Support Kashmir Bylines
  • Terms and conditions
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Kashmir Bylines
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Literature
  • In Depth
  • Opinion
  • World
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Literature
  • In Depth
  • Opinion
  • World
No Result
View All Result
Kashmir Bylines
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Huge army for hidden faces: BJP holds tonga rally in Sopore, fails to break taboo

News DeskbyNews Desk
December 2, 2020 | 7:37 pm
in News, Politics
Huge army for hidden faces: BJP holds tonga rally in Sopore, fails to break taboo

Photograph by Junaid Bhat for Kashmir Bylines

Srinagar: The north Kashmir town of Sopore in Baramulla district on Tuesday witnessed an election rally with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders campaigning on tongas (horse-carts) for the ongoing District Development Council (DDC) elections.

The peculiar tonga rally was held in Mazbugh area of Sopore, five kilometres away from the main town, and the tongas were decorated with BJP flags.

Talking to KNO, Abdul Majeed, a Sarpanch from the area, said that it is for the first time in the past 30 years that a tonga rally was held “in favour of BJP” in the area.

Eyewitnesses said the rally was carried out amid a huge military and police deployment.

“This is a message of peace. In this rally, dozens of tonga drivers participated. We want to tell the people to come out and vote for the BJP candidate in the DDC polls and give the party a chance to serve the people of Sopore,” the Sarpanch said.

BJP General Secretary and J&K affairs in-charge, Vibodh Gupta, who was part of the rally, said that Sopore was once known as mini-London “but militancy and separatism blocked all means of development in this area.”

“Today’s Tonga rally is a direct message of people of Sopore that they are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Though the BJP leaders shouted some slogans in favour of the party and Narendra Modi, many local participants shied away from being identified or captured in cameras, given the fact that supporting BJP in Kashmir is somewhat of a taboo and seen as a bigger ‘betrayal’.

Local women were seen hiding their faces with headscarves and dupattas while enjoying the ride.

“We promise the people of Sopore that if they choose a BJP candidate, we will set up an international [fruit] mandi in Sopore to give a fillip to the fruit market of Sopore,” the BJP General Secretary said on the occasion.

Gupta further said the “bumper polling” in the first two phases of DDC polls has given a message that “Kashmir has changed and there was no space for militancy and separatism”.

He said that BJP is committed to revive the economy of business hubs of Kashmir be that Lal Chowk of Srinagar or the once-popular mandi of Sopore.

Pertinently, Sopore, a town famous for its people production, is the hometown of senior Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani who recently called for a boycott of the ongoing DDC elections through his Pak-based representative, Abdullah Gilani.

The ailing patriarch hails from Dooru village of the town. On Tuesday, when the village was scheduled to go for polling, it kept with its tradition and boycotted the polls.

The village recorded a meagre 0.9 per cent voting. Electoral records revealed that the village polled only 15 votes against a total of 1600 registered voters.

However, scenes were slightly different in the broader Zaingeer area where some hundreds of voters turned up for voting.

In Dangerpora, Watlab, Warpora and Hathlangoo areas, many voters said though they know participating in elections have no bearing on the resolution of Kashmir issue, they have voted only with a hope that it will bring ‘development’ to their areas.

Many voters also said that keeping BJP at bay was their sole reason for taking part in the elections.

“There has been a lot of injustice with us so far. We don’t want to suffer any further,” a local said on Tuesday.

With additional inputs from KNO

Share on:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

Ramadan crescent sighted in Pakistan, Kashmir to fast from tomorrow

byNews Desk
April 13, 2021
0
Ramadan crescent sighted in Pakistan, Kashmir to fast from tomorrow
Religion

SRINAGAR — The crescent for the holy month of Ramadan...

Read more

Anantnag lady dies of suicide, paternal relatives set in-laws’ house on fire

byNews Desk
April 10, 2021
0
Anantnag lady dies of suicide, paternal relatives set in-laws’ house on fire
News

ANANTNAG — Soon after a lady committed suicide in Anantnag...

Read more

Territorial Army man shot dead in Bijbehara village

byNews Desk
April 9, 2021
0
Territorial Army man shot dead in Bijbehara village
News

SRINAGAR — The Territorial Army man who was injured after...

Read more

No Fajr and Isha prayers at Jamia Masjid Srinagar in Ramadhan, says Auqaf

byNews Desk
April 9, 2021
0
No Fajr and Isha prayers at Jamia Masjid Srinagar in Ramadhan, says Auqaf
News

SRINAGAR — The management of Jamia Majid in Srinagar has...

Read more

After Farooq Abdullah, son Omar tests positive for COVID-19

byNews Desk
April 9, 2021
0
After Farooq Abdullah, son Omar tests positive for COVID-19
News

SRINAGAR — After Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, a...

Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook Twitter Instagram Telegram Youtube

About us

Kashmir Bylines is an online media venture based in Kashmir. We aim to bring you news and views about politics, history, education and culture from the valley and beyond. We aspire to create an alternative space in media by making daily news a running commentary while carrying detailed views, analysis, opinions and reviews as well. With readers’ preferences shifting from print to digital modes, we opt to make your choice our own and be with you on your journey of awareness.

More:

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cancellation and refund policy

All contents © 2020-2021 Kashmir Bylines All rights reserved | Designed by Buucket

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Literature
  • In Depth
  • Opinion
  • World

All contents © 2020-2021 Kashmir Bylines All rights reserved | Designed by Buucket

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In