From active militant families to youth to women, all stood up for the first time in Brath village for change.
Suhail Khan
Brath village of Sopore town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district stood up for the first time to cast their vote for the revocation of the Red Zone tag.
The Kashmir Despatch team reports from Ground Zero in the once-hotbed of militancy, the Brath area. Scores of voters stated that they are fighting this time for their dignity, as they have been declared a Red Zone area. They said that they cast their vote for their protection and, more importantly, for the revocation of the Red Zone tag.
Farooq Ahmad, a local resident of Brath, told Kashmir Despatch that the lack of development is the concern for which they came forward today to cast our vote. He said this time, without any fear or pressure, we stood up to fight for our rights.
Atirah, a first-time voter in this once-election boycott area, told Kashmir Despatch that we must cast our vote, as it is our right, and through the vote, we can choose our representative who can fight for our well-being and our bright future.
She stated that this vote is very important for her, as she is coming forward for the first time with the aim of choosing the right person, the one who will have a vision and will really fight back for the people’s rights and voice.
Gul Kak, an elderly voter, termed the peaceful situation another ground factor that helps people choose their representative, who can be different from the previous ones, as Kashmir really needs a real voice and a real representative.
Ghulam Qadir Mir, another voter, told Kashmir Despatch that they don’t prefer to boycott this time, and the whole village came forward to cast their votes for the development of their area. He said they also voted for their youth who are behind bars so that they can come back and live a peaceful life.
Meanwhile, breaking the election boycott trend, Sopore, the town that used to be the hotbed of militancy for decades, participated in the ongoing electoral process on Monday with much enthusiasm and zeal.
Pertinently, around 17,37,865 electorates are casting their ballots in 2,103 polling stations established across the Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency today, on the 5th phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
