Srinagar- Ashok Bhat, the Bhartiya Janata Party candidate from the Habakadal seat, was cornered by the locals on Thursday over the promises the saffron party made regarding the restoration of J&K’s ‘statehood’ and the ‘issues’ people confront on a daily basis.
Bhat, a BJP nominee for the Habakadal Assembly constituency will square off against Arif Laigaroo of the Peoples Democratic Party and Shamima Firdous, a strong contender from the National Conference.
Upon his arrival in the Habakadal locality to solicit support for the upcoming assembly elections, the BJP leader was confronted by a few elderly residents, leaving him with little room to answer the volley of questions.
An old man, puffing on a cigarette, engaged Bhat and his supporters in a moderate discussion over the party’s performance, asking the latter to explain how the BJP changed the lives of ordinary Kashmiri’s in the last 10 years.
“What actions did your party take to restore J&Ks statehood? Isn’t the energy shortage causing people to live in absolute gloom and your government installed smart meters in J&K? Isn’t the unemployment rate in Kashmir at an all-time high? People here pine for a drop of water and your government is planning to install smart water meters? questioned the elderly man.
When challenged by one of the supporters of Bhat to lay his hand on his heart and swear that regional parties did not ‘exploited’ Kashmiri’s for 72 years, the elderly man replied “That was the past, nowadays, people are well aware of political gimmicks. We shall cast our votes for a candidate who can deal with our problems and relate to us emotionally”
The BJP politician was requested to ask his party to fulfill its promises on the restoration of J&K’s statehood on the ground.
However, the BJP candidate in a polite manner promised the old man that his party is committed to develop Kashmir on modern lines while every single promise will be adopted on the ground at an appropriate time.”I appreciate your feelings, and want people to be extremely direct in expressing what they really need, whether its ration, power, water, jobs, or anything else connected to daily living,” Bhat replied.
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