THN Bureau
The political landscape of Rajouri district was shaken on Monday after a viral video emerged on X (formerly known as Twitter), featuring Nasreen Begum, a former BJP Mahila Morcha Secretary, accusing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of abducting her husband.
The video, shared by Javed Choudhary, the alliance candidate from Budhal assembly seat, has sparked outrage and raised serious concerns over electoral conduct in the region.
In the video, Nasreen Begum claims her husband was forcibly taken away by BJP workers after he refused to coerce their community into voting for BJP candidate Zulafkar Choudhary. “The BJP leaders and workers came to our home, offering us Rs 10 lakh if we, along with our supporters, agreed to support their candidate. We rejected their offer as our conscience doesn’t allow us to vote for money,” Begum said, visibly distressed. “They then abducted my husband, falsely accusing him of attacking BJP leaders and workers who had come to our residence under police protection.”
This allegation of abduction comes amid ongoing elections in the Rajouri district, casting a shadow over the democratic process. Javed Choudhary, in his post, condemned the incident, saying, “If election authorities overlook and fail to lodge an FIR on this clear evidence, they will prove beyond doubt who they are working for. This is just one of the dozens of public evidences of forcible attempts at voter inducement.”
Nasreen Begum, who claims not to be affiliated with any political party, mentioned that their vehicle was hired by the National Conference for election purposes in the constituency. “We have heard about electoral crimes in places like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but now we are experiencing the same here. The BJP is promoting a culture of intimidation and violence in Jammu and Kashmir,” she alleged.
Javed Choudhary has tagged the video to @ECISVEEP, @ceo_UTJK, @dmrajouri, @RAJOURIPOLICE, and @JKNC_ on X, calling for immediate action. However, the authorities have not yet responded. Recently, Javed surrendered the security provided to him by the Election Commission, which is granted to all contesting candidates. He alleged that the police had withdrawn the security cover of his workers and community leaders who are under terrorist threat in Budhal. Following his complaints, the authorities acted swiftly and reinstated security for those already under protection.
