‘Tihar ka badla’… ‘Vote se’: Baramulla answers Engineer Rashid’s call

As far as upsets go, few get bigger than this. Jailed for the past five years in Tihar Jail on money laundering charges related to alleged terror funding, once physically attacked within the J&K Assembly by BJP leaders, seen as a voice that strays on the side of separatism, and contesting as an Independent, Engineer Rashid won the Baramulla seat on Tuesday, defeating former chief minister Omar Abdullah by more than two lakh votes.

Till Rashid joined the fray, the contest was seen as a two-cornered one, between prominent contenders Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and Sajad Lone of the People’s Conference.

With Rashid in jail, his campaign was managed by his sons Abrar Rashid (23) and Asrar Rashid (21). They did not talk about Article 370 abrogation, identity issues or development, or bread-and-butter matters like road, electricity or water. Abrar’s appeal was emotional, seeking votes so that his father could “come out of jail”. He also sought votes against “oppression”, as a “revenge” for his father’s arrest.

When he raised the slogan ‘Tihar ka badla (the revenge for Tihar is)’, the crowds would answer back, ‘Vote se (With votes)’.

More than the campaigns run by mainstream parties, Rashid’s tapped into the raw anger against the Centre over the unilateral scrapping of J&K’s special status and stripping of its statehood, followed by a clampdown against voices of dissent.

What Rashid also attracted was the boycott vote, which would earlier stay away from polling booths in the Valley, but which now saw a vote for him as a vote for resistance. Abrar addressed this directly in his poll speeches, saying: “I know that you are the pro-boycott people. But promise me, this time you will come out to vote.”

This vote is seen as