Baramulla: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday organised an impressive tonga rally (horse cart rally) in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, and said that the rally gave out the message that people in this apple town were peace lovers.
This was the first time that the BJP had held such a public event in Sopore which has long been known as the hub of militancy and separatism in Kashmir.
Local leaders and workers of the BJP hired scores of tonga drivers and put up colourful posters and banners on the tongas. The rally started from Mazbug area of the town and went along with BJP activists canvassing for votes for the party in the District Development Council (DDC) elections, which are being held over eight phases in Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdul Majeed, BJP leader and Sarpanch of Mazbugh area, said that the tonga rally was a message of peace in the region. He appealed to people to vote for the BJP candidate in the DDC polls so as to give the BJP a chance to serve the people of Sopore.
BJP general secretary and in-charge of JK affairs, Vibodh Gupta, said that Sopore was known as “mini London” but militancy and separatism had blocked all means of development in the area.
“The tonga rally is a direct message from the people of Sopore that they are with Prime Minister Narendera Modi and his development agenda. We promise to the people of Sopore that if they choose the BJP candidate, we will set up an international mandi here to give a fillip to the fruit industry of Sopore,” Gupta said.
He added that the high voter turnout in the two phases of DDC polls held so far has given the clear message that Kashmir has changed and there is no longer space for militancy and separatism here.
Local sources said that not only men but several women workers of the BJP also participated in the tonga rally and claimed that the BJP was the only party in the country that could hold such a rally in Sopore town.
Security forces guarded the rally all along its route.
Sopore is an administrative sub-division and the second-most important town of Baramulla district. It was once a hub of militancy where militants could be seen in broad daylight during the early nineties. Sopore and its surrounding areas are still one of the strongholds of militants in north Kashmir. The BJP chose the place precisely to demonstrate its strength in such a traditionally hostile region.

Mushtaq Ahamd