Srinagar- Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, on Tuesday, June 4, conceded defeat to his nearest rival and independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid in the Baramulla seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Engineer Rashid is languishing in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for the last five years in a terror funding case.
Rashid, a former two-time MLA who heads the Awami Ittehad Party, was one of 22 candidates in the fray from Baramulla.
Rashid was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019 on charges of terror-funding activities, becoming the first mainstream leader to be held under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In his absence, Rashid’s two sons– Abrar Rashid and Asrar Rashid– led his poll campaign, drawing massive crowds, especially youth, across North Kashmir. Their confidence that the massive crowds witnessed in the rallies would turn into votes for Rashid, proved true on Tuesday. Despite their humble backgrounds the duo took on two political heavyweights, Omar Abdullah and Sajad Gani Lone and made the two powerful candidates bite the dust at the hustings.
A NOVICE IN POLITICS
Engineer Rashid worked as a construction engineer before he quit his job in 2008 and embarked on a political career. He led a brief electoral campaign in the 2008 Jammu and Kashmir state polls and registered a comfortable win from the Langate seat in his hometown.
In 2013, Rashid formed his own party and named it Jammu and Kashmir Awami Ittehad Party, with the slogan of Progress, Prestige and Protection. He later won the Langate assembly segment in 2014 also.
In 2019, Rashid also fought parliamentary elections from Baramulla constituency. Though he could not get victory, he fetched more than a whopping one lakh votes, a record for him he was only 827 votes behind People conference’s Sajad Lone and only 31,192 votes behind winner NC candidate Akbar Lone.
While he leads the Awami Ittehad Party, he contested these elections as an Independent.
Many believe that his simplicity of thoughts and lifestyle made him popular. Rashid wore traditional cloth, pheran, traveled in an auto rickshaw or small car, roamed without heavy security and kept himself low profile like a common man. He believed in door to door campaigns and reached to every house not only during elections but all the time.
Rashid is known for his controversial stance on various issues and is alleged to have a soft corner for the separatist movement in Kashmir, an accusation which many have alleged resonate with many of his supporters, hence the reason for his popularity.
Even before he joined politics, Engineer Rashid was arrested by Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2005 and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for allegedly supporting militants.
Rashid was in jail for over three months before he was eventually released on humanitarian grounds.
CONTROVERSIES
In October 2015, Rashid was assaulted by BJP MLAs inside the state assembly after he hosted a “beef party” on the lawns of the government circuit house to protest against the Central government beef ban order in the country.
Later, black ink was hurled at him in Press Club New Delhi, allegedly by BJP workers, after his remarks condemning the brutal lynching of a Kashmiri trucker in Udhampur district.
He also led and participated in many protests including a few unique ones. For instance, in protest against Shopian killings he brought out cows, dogs, goats in protest with a banner that read ‘Kashmiri people live a less secure life in Kashmir than a street dog in Kashmir’.
He even jumped in the assembly hall and was marshaled out a few times. His adversaries even mocked him saying draamebaaz and joker.
Now that Rashid has emerged victorious in the Lok Sabha elections from the Baramulla constituency, the question on everyone’s minds is when, and if, he will be released from jail. This is the very representation the people voted for, and the anticipation of his release remains.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
