An Indian Sikh separatist and a staunch opponent of prime minister Narendra Modi from disputed Kashmir were both set to be elected lawmakers from behind bars on Tuesday.
Firebrand preacher Amritpal Singh, 31, a Sikh separatist leader arrested last year after a month-long police manhunt in Punjab state, defeated 26 other candidates including 17 independents in Khadoor Sahib constituency.
Singh rose to prominence calling for a separate Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in India in the 1980s and 1990s.
Weeks before Singh鈥檚 April 2023 arrest, he and armed supporters raided a police station, after one of the self-styled preacher鈥檚 aides was arrested for assault and attempted kidnapping.
Another jailed leader, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a former state legislator in Indian-administered Kashmir, won a seat in the disputed Himalayan region by more than 2,00,000 votes.
He defeated Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of the territory.
鈥業 don鈥檛 believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to,鈥� Abdullah said as he conceded defeat, in a post on social media.
Prime minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 government arrested Rashid 鈥� popularly known as Engineer Rashid 鈥� on charges of 鈥榯error funding鈥� and money laundering in 2019.
That followed New Delhi鈥檚 cancellation of the limited autonomy of the Muslim-majority territory, which is also claimed by Pakistan.
Rashid鈥檚 son ran an emotional campaign on his behalf in northern Kashmir鈥檚 Kupwara constituency, defeating a candidate seen as close to Modi鈥檚 Bharatiya Janata Party.
He used a pressure cooker as his election symbol, seen as a representation of stifled political conditions in Indian-administered Kashmir after the 2019 change, when civil liberties were drastically curtailed.
Kashmir saw a 58.6 per cent turnout at the polls according to the election commission, a 30 per cent jump from the last vote in 2019 and the highest in 35 years.
For the first time since the insurgency began in 1989, no separatist group called for a boycott of the polls.
