Election Results 2019

Election Results 2019: Candidate Credits Facebook For Getting Over A Lakh Votes In Kashmir

Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Engineer Rashid had a simple style of campaigning in Baramulla. A message on Facebook announcing the schedule for his election meetings

Engineer Rashid contested as an independant candidate from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla.

SRINAGAR: 

He ran the election campaign on his Facebook page and surprised everyone with over 1 lakh votes in his kitty. Engineer Rashid, an independent candidate from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla constituency has become a challenger to regional parties in the Valley.

"I'm extremely thankful to Facebook. Without Facebook, it was impossible for me to connect with people and ask for votes. Reaching everywhere across three districts of north Kashmir was not possible. I had no money for campaigning. Facebook became an effective medium," said Engineer Rashid.

His effective use of social media had a major influence on the youth, service voters (security forces) and women. Out of 3,500 services votes in the constituency, Mr Rashid has got 1,491 votes.

"I always talk about cessation of hostilities in Kashmir and the resolution of conflict through peaceful engagement. I want no mother to lose her son. I want no soldier to die, no militant should die. It has a resonance among the security forces and they have overwhelmingly voted for me," he said.

Mr Rashid had a simple style of campaigning. A message on Facebook announcing the schedule for his election meetings. He would travel in his Scorpio SUV without any security and reach remote villages. Regardless of the size of crowd, the former legislator would start his speech and livestream it on Facebook. He says on an average, over 60,000 people would see his speeches and thousands would comment on it.

Engineer Rashid, the leader of lesser-known Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), says he had never imagined that he will emerge as the main challenger to powerful regional parties.

"I had no resources, no party structure, not even polling agents at many places. Yet, people voted for me in large numbers. Over 1.02 lakh votes. It's the equal number of votes the People's Conference has got after using massive resources in the election," he said.

While Mr Rashid lost the election, he says the use of social media for canvassing has given him confidence that he can run a poll campaign and take on powerful opponents without money power.

Mr Rashid uses the "common man" image and moves without any security cover to connect with voters in hard-to-reach villages where other politicians find it difficult to go. He also carried out night campaigning, which is unheard of in Jammu and Kashmir because of fear of terror attacks.

"My people are my best protection. I campaigned everywhere without any security cover," he said.

The politician regrets frequent internet shutdowns in Kashmir, which he believes caused considerable setback to his campaigning.

Rashid

"Even on polling day, there was complete internet shutdown. I'm sure the result would have been different if there were no internet shutdowns, more so if the internet service was not suspended on polling day," he said he said.

Take political route to address Kashmir issue

Engineer Rashid’s message to PM

Independent candidate Engineer Rashid, who surprised all after bagging one lakh votes in the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, on Thursday said the voting pattern in Kashmir has a message for separatists as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Heeding to the message from J&K, PM Modi should ensure that the political problem should be dealt with by a political process, not by misusing various agencies,” Mr. Rashid, considered a firebrand politician, said at a press conference in Srinagar.

Mr. Rashid, who heads the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), said not only families of victims of violence but those in uniform have also shown their faith in his party. “The hate mongers should understand that the vote is for the slogan and efforts of the AIP leadership that no mother should lose her beloved son whether he be a militant, an Army man, a common man or a political worker,” he said.

He said many relatives of militant commanders and once-hardcore separatists voted for him in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls “because the AIP has been constantly seeking an end to bloodshed by resolving the dispute in accordance with wishes, aspirations and sacrifices of people of J&K.”

“For every mother the life of her son is important and wrapping bodies in the tricolour or any other colour hardly matters for the ill-fated families,” he added.

‘Release prisoners’

He asked the new government at the Centre to release all political prisoners for creating a conducive atmosphere. “Both India and Pakistan should not take for granted the sufferings of Kashmiris. Kashmiris will welcome any goodwill gesture between the two countries, but cannot surrender their legitimate political rights,” the former MLA from Langate said.

Zakir Musa who was killed in a gunfight last night in Tral area of south Kashmir’s

Thousands attend funeral of top militant commander Zakir Musa in South Kashmir’s Tral
Body of Zakir Musa who was killed in a gunfight last night in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district was handed over to his family for last rites this morning.
A police officer said that Musa turned down offer to surrender and fired UBGL grenades and opened fire on the armed forces.

Braving rains, thousands attend funeral prayers of slain militant commander Zakir Musa

Braving rains, thousands attend funeral prayers of slain militant commander Zakir Musa

..

Clashes Erupt In Sopore After Friday Prayers, One Injured; Shifted To SMHS

Sopore, May 24 : Massive clashes erupted in old town area of Sopore near Jamia Masjid after Friday prayers. The clashes erupted after locals staged protest over the killing of militant commander Zakir Musa.

An eyewitness told KNO that the youth in large number staged protest in the area however the police party deployed in the area tried to chase away the protesting youth, triggering clashes in the area.

During the clashes, the youth fought pitched battles with the government forces. In the clashes the forces resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse the protesters. “ A tear gas shell was lobbed in front of a youth who tried to throw it back towards but the shell got burst in his hand leaving him injured,” an eyewitness told KNO.

The injured was rushed to sub district hospital for treatment. “He was given some first aid here and was shifted to SMHS for specialised treatment. He has got severe injuries in his hand and face as well,” BMO Sopore told KNO.

The injured was identified as Airfan Ahmad. Clashes were going on in the area when the report was being filed. There are reports of pellet injuries in the clashes as well

Who was Zakir Musa?

 Born in an affluent family of Noorpora village in volatile Tral region of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa, succeeded Burhan Muzzafar Wani as the divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir soon after he was killed in an encounter on July 8, 2016.

Zakir, who was in his mid-twenties, joined militant ranks after quitting engineering studies at a Chandigarh college in 2013. He joined the Burhan Wani's core group of militants based in Tral. Zakir grew very close to his predecessor and hit headlines first time in 2015 after his picture along with another militant Lateef Tiger went viral on social media. The picture, in which Zakir and Lateef were in casuals, was clicked somewhere in Srinagar, sending the security establishment into the tizzy that time.

Days after Burhan Wani's killing, Musa issued a maiden video statement, calling on people to continue the agitation and described Kashmir's movement as the movement for Islam. In several other videos, he was seen giving arms training to the new recruits inside a residential house at an undisclosed location.

However, Zakir Musa shot to prominence in May 2017 after he termed the Kashmir movement as a struggle for the establishment of Islam and not for nationalism or secularism. He threatened to behead Hurriyat leaders and hang their heads in Lal Chowk "if they come out in his way of establishing Shariah".

The threat did not go well with Hizbul Mujahideen leadership based in Pakistan who termed his remakes as well as Musa's call for Islamic struggle as his personal views. Musa was quick to hit back and announced his exit from the Hizb.

Days later, he formed his own outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, which is believed to be linked to Al Qaida in the Indian subcontinent, and reiterated his pan-Islamist stand. Musa entered into a bitter war of words with the militant leadership based in Pakistan over his Islamist stand.

Around a dozen members of Hizb and LeT defected to Musa's group and announced their support to his cause. Notable among them was Abu Dujana, the successor of top Lashkar commander Abu Qasim, who was killed in 2015 and Abu Hamas, a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. Both the commanders were residents of Pakistan and their support to Musa gave his organization a big boost.

The first major blow to Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind came when Abu Dujana and his aide Arif Lelhari died in a gunfight at Hakripora in Kakapora area of Pulwama district. After several weeks, four of his aides were killed in a brief encounter in Tral. Till this date, more than a dozen members of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind have died including it's deputy chief Rehan Khan. Before the formation of the group, four aides of Zakir were killed in an encounter in Kakapora.

After quitting Hizb, Zakir remained elusive but his group released many of his audio messages wherein he targeted both India and Pakistan. He was critical of Pakistani establishment as well as leaders of UJC over their handling of armed struggle in Kashmir. Zakir did not regard Pakistan as an Islamic State and condemned it's rulers and army as apostates for allying with U.S against Al Qaeda and Taliban.

While Zakir Musa was severely criticized by the UJC and joint resistance leadership or the JRL, he became highly popular among youths in Kashmir with his slogans being raised even in the protests on civic issues.

He featured in top 12 "most wanted” militant list of the army and managed to dodge forces on several occasions in 6 years. While his group couldn't carry out any major attack in Kashmir, it, however, was involved in a few attacks in Punjab.

With the killing of Zakir, who is the top-most militant commander to die since 2017, the cadre strength of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind has now reduced to three, according to top security sources. 

Restrictions imposed in Srinagar over separatist march

0

Srinagar, May 21:  Authorities have imposed restrictions in Srinagar on Tuesday to prevent a separatist-called commemoration march.

The Hurriyat Conference has called for the march to the Martyrs Graveyard in the Old City’s Eidgah area to pay homage to two senior separatist leaders, Mirwaiz Moulana Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, who were killed by unidentified assailants on this day in 1990 and 2002.

Mirwaiz Moulana Moulvi Muhammad Farooq, the father of Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was killed in his residence in the outskirts of the city on May 21, 1990. While, Abdul Gani Lone, father of Sajad Lone and Bilal Lone, was killed in the Martyrs Graveyard on May 21, 2002.