Brath village in Sopore votes to shed 'Red Zone' tag

Sopore, May 20: As the voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha (LS) elections started on Monday at 7 am, people in the Brath area of north Kashmir’s Sopore town started lining up outside their polling booths to cast their votes.

Standing in long queues outside the polling stations, the voters including the elderly and young said that they had decided to participate in polling to revoke the ‘red zone’ tag given to their village.

The voters said they decided to participate in voting to remove the stigma of terror activity in the area and its history of siding with election boycott.

However, on the voting day, people were seen to be enthusiastic to participate in the election process with the sole motive of removing the ‘red zone’ tag given to the area.

“Today we have come out of our homes to participate in voting because we want to be a part of the democratic process. Our area has been the victim of negative narratives owing to the presence of terrorists and the Over Ground Workers. But, today, we want to clarify that we are part of a democratic setup,” said an elderly resident while waiting for his turn to vote.

Another resident said that their village witnessed indifferences of the successive regimes because of terrorism.

The residents said they had come to vote of their own will and there was no external force involved.

“It is our fundamental right to cast our votes. We want to use this right to choose our representative who will speak for our rights and also clear the notion which has been created about this village,” said a first-time female voter of Brath.

The residents who had lined up at the polling stations said that their stand for boycott had not yielded any positive results, prompting them to cast their votes today.

The locals attributed their massive participation in voting to the peaceful atmosphere in Kashmir, particularly in their area.

“This time we decided to choose development, prosperity, and a bright future for our young generation instead of staying back at home without casting our votes," said Ghulam Muhammad Mir, an elderly voter of Brath.

The situation in Sopore town was no different.

The voters in Sopore ended the election boycott and participated massively in the voting process.

In the 2019 parliament polls, Sopore recorded 4 percent voting while the voting percentage in LS elections 2024 was recorded at 44 percent.

“We suffered a lot in the past and we do not want our younger generations to suffer,” said Abdul Salaam, an elderly voter.

Female voters were also seen casting their votes.

“Sopore has underdeveloped. Today we have come to use our rights for our development and bright future,” an elderly woman said.