Engineer Rashid draws emotional chord, seeks votes as J&K goes to poll

Lok Sabha MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid on Wednesday appealed to people to cast votes.

"I will live with them and die for them. I will fight for them and stand with them. I appeal to everyone.. people who are honest, emotional and loving... that people from South Kashmir came down to streets with me,"  he said.

Rashid expressed that he don't want to listen to taunts that Kashmiri people didn't support him if he gets defeated in the polls.

"But if our candidates don't get enough votes to win the polls and I get defeated, I don't want to listen to taunts that Kashmiris are not with Mufti and Sheikh family," he added.

Rashid walked out of Tihar Jail last week after a court granted him interim bail till October 2 in a terror funding case so that he can campaign in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls.

Voting began in the first phase of assembly election across Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on Wednesday morning.

There is a heavy deployment of security personnel at the polling booths.

Over 23 lakh voters will decide the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 independents, who are running for 24 assembly segments: eight in three districts of Jammu region and 16 in four districts of Kashmir valley.

This will be the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.The constituencies going to the polls on Wednesday include Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padd