The victim, who has been identified as Gul Mohammed Khan, is one of the 30 contestants whose details were shared by separatist militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen
Srinagar: A BJP civic poll candidate’s paddy crops were burnt to ashes by unidentified men on Wednesday. The incident was reported from South Kashmir’s Dooru Verinag area.
The victim, who has been identified as Gul Mohammed Khan, is one of the 30 contestants whose details were shared by separatist militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen.
However, this was not a stray case of attack against BJP candidates in the Valley. Petrol was thrown at the house of another candidate from Srinagar. “The gate of our house caught fire, but it was immediately doused. There was no major damage because they put patrol on our gate,” said Showkat Raja from Gojwara area of the Old City, according to The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Ghulam Hassan Bhat who was BJP’s Verinag constituency president resigned from the party membership. Hassan blaming the party for failing to provide security said that several other candidates had withdrawn their nominations for elections.
The four-phase local body elections are scheduled to begin from October 8.
On the other hand, this is also the first time that the BJP is seen winning hearts in Kashmir. Sixty BJP candidates won the panchayat election without even contesting the polls. Out of those 60 candidates, eight are from Devsar, four from Qazigund, nine from Pahalgam, eight of Ashmuqam and four from Tral.
The BJP’s 275 candidates have filed papers for the upcoming municipal elections, despite boycott calls from two main regional parties, PDP and National Conference, and threats from terror outfits.
Recently, the BJP had also welcomed former terrorist Farooq Ahmad Khan into its fold. Senior BJP leader and MLC Sofi Yousuf told MyNation that the BJP has a clear policy. If anyone wants to come back to the mainstream, he is welcomed. However, if he takes up the path of violence, the consequences will be severe and the security forces will decide his fate.
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