New Delhi, India – On June 4, a large group of young men assembled outside a two-storey house in Mawar village with the Pir Panjal mountains in the backdrop, located in the Kupwara district of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Among the crowd, a man was hoisted upon shoulders, chanting "Tihar ka jawab [the answer to Tihar jail],” to which the assembly replied, "Vote se [the vote]," while women watched from windows and children climbed the brick walls for a better view.

The gathering was celebrating the electoral win of the incarcerated engineer-turned-politician Abdul Rashid Sheikh, or "Engineer Rashid", who earned the Baramulla seat in Kashmir with almost half a million votes. He triumphed over the National Conference’s former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference’s Sajjad Gani Lone.

It's rare that an independent candidate wins in India, where only seven out of 543 successful candidates were independents in the recent national elections. Rashid's success was even more remarkable since it was secured from Delhi’s Tihar jail, approximately 850km (528 miles) away.

The 58-year-old was detained post-August 5, 2019, when New Delhi repealed Kashmir’s special status, facing charges of “terror funding” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. India’s National Investigation Agency accused him in March 2022 of incitement against the Indian Army and accepting funds from Pakistan. Rashid denies these accusations.

Similarly, 485km (300 miles) away in Punjab, Khadoor Sahib voters elected Amritpal Singh, a 31-year-old advocate for a separate Sikh homeland, to parliament. Singh, detained in Assam’s high-security prison, contested while facing 12 criminal charges. Arrested in April 2023 under the National Security Act, Singh won on June 4 by 400,000 votes.

Analysts view these wins as indicative of waning trust in institutional politics in areas like Punjab and Kashmir, both regions with strong opposition to the Modi government.

"Mainstream parties are vital as they bridge national integration," said Asim Ali, a political commentator. Nonetheless, voters in Baramulla and Khadoor Sahib rejected these parties, viewing them as untrustworthy, many having allied with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Such a void allowed fringe candidates to rise.

Votes Against Incarceration

India has viewed resistance in Kashmir as terrorism, stationing millions of soldiers there over the years. Rashid, a construction engineer by profession, switched to politics in 2008, winning the Langate seat independently, and again in 2014 with the Awami Ittehad Party, which he founded.

Seen as a "common man," Rashid often demanded answers for alleged rights violations by Indian security in Kashmir, yet during unrest in 2010, he urged local youth to avoid violence.

This year saw record voter turnout in Kashmir, as many saw voting against the BJP as their only voice against New Delhi.

Such attitudes seemingly favored Rashid in Baramulla.

Tariq Ahmad, a 35-year-old from Pattan, had never voted until now, choosing Rashid.

"This is the only way to show our support for him, through our democratic right," Ahmad said.

Rashid’s sons, Abrar Rashid, 23, and Asrar Rashid, 19, urged voters to avenge their father’s arrest by voting. They mobilized significant crowds, especially young people in volatile northern Kashmir.

Abrar said the win is for all Kashmiris imprisoned across India.

"It’s tough for families with kin in jail. My father can be their voice," Abrar shared with Al Jazeera.

He mentioned that campaigning was voluntary and cost-effective. “I only spent 27,000 rupees [$322] on petrol,” he noted.

Rashid has requested a Delhi court for interim bail to take his parliamentary oath.

Democratic Triumph, Not Separation

Analyst Siddiq Wahid believes Rashid's supporters were voting against the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status and the prolonged crackdown that followed.

"Rashid's election illustrates that Kashmir’s plea for political justice persists," Wahid noted.

Local analysts suggest that Rashid's win represents a victory for democracy, not separatism.

High voter turnout was attributed to the lack of threats from armed groups and support from the Jamaat-e-Islami, a significant local force albeit banned, whose leaders met with Home Minister Amit Shah recently.

Likewise, in Khadoor Sahib, Punjab, it was democratic processes that led to Amritpal Singh’s parliamentary win.

On June 8, Singh’s parents celebrated his victory by sharing sweets with prison guards in Assam.

"We are elated. We hope Amritpal is released soon to take his oath," his father, Tarsem Singh, told Al Jazeera.

Some experts express concern over Singh’s victory, given his past allegations of supporting Khalistani separatism. However, his backers assert he focuses on religious guidance and combating drug addiction among youth.

Sikhs, a minority in India, constitute about 58% of Punjab’s population, a state which faced secessionism in the 1980s and currently grapples with a drug crisis.

Singh is not the sole candidate with separatist ties to gain a win. Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, son of one of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassins, also won from Faridkot independently as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) experienced a significant defeat.

Punjab journalist Shamsher Singh Warraich dismisses that the vote supports secessionism. “People endorsed Amritpal for his anti-drug efforts, not separatism,” he argues.

Nonetheless, Singh’s win reflects Modi’s government's ongoing confrontations over Sikh separatism both nationally and internationally.

Counter-Response

Since 2014, Modi’s administration has cracked down on Sikh separatists, with several leaders arrested for connections to the Khalistan movement.

During farmer protests, BJP supporters often accused demonstrators of Khalistan sympathies.

Elsewhere, Canada and the US allege Indian intelligence in assassination plots against Sikh leaders abroad, which India denies but agrees to investigate US claims.

Aditya Menon, of the Quint, suggests Rashid, Singh, and Khalsa benefit from widespread dissatisfaction with mainstream parties.

"Their victories mirror a reaction to the rise of hardline Hindu nationalism under the BJP," Menon asserts.