Lok Sabha Polls | AIP files nomination on behalf of jailed Er Rashid from Baramulla constituency

Baramulla, Apr 29:  The Awami Itihad Party (AIP) leaders on Monday filed the nomination papers on behalf of the jailed leader, Er Rashid, from the Baramulla parliament constituency.

The nomination papers were submitted by the party spokesperson Firdous Baba who was accompanied by other senior leaders of the AIP. As per the Gazette notification issued by the Returning Officer (RO) Baramulla parliament constituency, the process for filing nominations of the candidates started from April 26 and the last date for submission of the forms has been fixed on May 3.

Talking to media persons after filing the nomination papers, party spokesperson said Er Rashid was a capable leader and everyone knows the sacrifices he made for the welfare of the people. "He has been in jail since 2019, but he has a commitment to the people. People regret that Er Rashid should have represented them in parliament during 2019 LS polls, but he could not because there was a difference of a few thousand votes, and he lost the election," Baba said

He said in the upcoming elections, party leaders will again approach the people and they are hopeful that the public will not disappoint them. "The enthusiasm of the youth of the Baramulla parliament constituency towards our party or the spirit the youth have, this is our party's strength," he said.

He said that AIP is a structured party and the senior leaders of the party go to the people as representatives of Er Rashid, present Er Rashid's views. "I have full hope that people will not disappoint us," he said. He said that Er Rashid is the representative of innocent Kashmiris in jail. "And in this election, the vote will help to release all the innocent Kashmiri people who are in Jails. The vote will be used to open the lock that locked Er Rashid in Tihar Jail. Despite being in Tihar Jail, Er Rashid is committed towards people," Party spokesman said.

He said that the environment that emerged after 2019, political priorities changed following which the people's aspirations changed as well.

Talking to media persons, Er Rashid's son Sheikh Abrar said his father (Er Rashid) always talked about Kashmir and Kashmiris, their rights. "He (Er Rashid) has protested on every street for the rights of the people. He was labeled as an agent of many organisations but the time has proven that Er Rashid was not anyone's agent. He was the agent of Kashmir and Kashmiris, and the agent of his conscience," Abrar said.