Music, dance add colour to election campaign in J&K

As the campaigning for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls ended on Tuesday evening, political parties in Jammu and Kashmir used musical and folk-dance shows to attract crowds for their rallies.

And star attraction during the campaigning in Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha constituency remained National Conference president and three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah. The octogenarian Abdullah, who is probably contesting his last election, reaching out to the people with a smiling face, traditional folk dance and women singing traditional ‘wanwun’ is a “treat for eyes.”

“This is all about Kashmir,” he told a small gathering in the interiors of Dal Lake, here, recently.

Waving flags in different hues, Abdullah along with his supporters reached out to people living in the interiors of Dal in a shikara rally, with Kashmiri song ‘Lehra Aay Kashmir Kay Jhanday Lehra’ reverberating in the background.

Despite tension and security constraint, in one of the election rallies in Srinagar, drummers were seen cheering up the supporters while a few women sang traditional songs for the candidate.

The scene was the same in PDP rallies. “The way women supporters are coming out to sing songs in favour of our president Mehbooba Mufti is really a treat for our eyes. I haven’t seen such enthusiasm among the party workers before,” said a PDP worker.

For the BJP, Khag area of central Budgam district was a “perfect site to start wooing voters by organising a folk-dance show, followed by the singing of traditional songs by some prominent singers”.

“This was done to create enthusiasm among the voters towards BJP. After playing Kashmiri songs, large number of women also sang wanwun (traditional Kashmiri songs) in favour of our candidate for Srinagar seat, Khalid Jehangir,” BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur, said.

A senior police officer said the parties were given permission for the rallies and musical shows at “designated places” in Kashmir. “Wherever such rallies were held, we provided the parties, candidates and their supporters a proper security cover,” he said.