The Baramulla parliamentary constituency in north Kashmir, one of the 49 seats voting in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 today, saw a shift in dynamics.
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference (NC) Vice-President Omar Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) chief Sajad Lone were the main contenders until Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, entered the fray.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Fayaz Ahmad Mir is also contesting from Baramula seat
Rashid, whose nomination papers from the Baramulla seat were filed on April 29, is contesting the election from behind bars. Rashid's presence, despite being in Tihar jail facing UAPA charges for five years, has stirred the election.
In August 2019, soon after the abrogation of Article 370, Rashid was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case of terror funding. Rashid's 26-year-old son, Abrar Rashid, is leading his campaign, drawing large crowds as he travels to seek votes for his jailed father.
Supported by the Democratic Progressive Azad party, led by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Engineer Rashid's posters, showing him in prison, are commonplace in the election campaign.
“When I go to people, I tell them my father has been in prison for the last five years. I say to them, please vote for him so that his election as a Member of Parliament paves the way for his release," Scroll.in quoted Abrar as saying.
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Baramulla is one of the three seats in the Kashmir division, other than Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not fielded any candidates. It comprises assembly segments of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and Budgam districts. Srinagar voted in the fourth phase of polling on May 13, and Anantnag-Rajouri will go to the polls in the sixth phase on May 25.
Engineer Rashid, 57, is a former two-time MLA from Langate seat in north Kashmir. Before joining mainstream politics, he was a close aide of slain Hurriyat leader and JKPC founder Abdul Gani Lone, father of Sajad Lone.
Unknown gunmen assassinated Abdul Gani Lone in Srinagar’s Eidgah on May 21, 2002. Rashid quit his government job as an engineer, left the JKPC in 2008 and successfully contested the Assembly elections as an Independent candidate from Langate in Kupwara district.
Rashid founded the Awami-e-Ittihad Party (AIP) in 2014. Since his party is not registered with the Election Commission of India, he is contesting Lok Sabha polls as an Independent candidate.
Firebrand leader Rashid has found himself in many controversies. In 2015, for example, Rashid was beaten up inside the Assembly of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state by the BJP lawmakers after he hosted a beef party at Srinagar’s MLA hostel.
In October 2015, Rashid was attacked with ink at the Press Club of India in the national capital. The same year, he hoisted the J&K flag at Srinagar’s Pratap Park, protesting against the BJP’s “ek vidhan, ek pradhan aur ek nishan” slogan.
“While mainstream media had reduced him to a separatist masquerading as an MLA, in Kashmir, the separatists attack me for embracing the Indian Constitution,” Rashid had said in an interview in 2015.
Rashid contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the Baramulla seat, too. He finished third and polled over one lakh votes, finishing ahead of the PDP and the Congress’s candidates. Then, Rashid was supported by bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal's Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM). Faesel has since rejoined the civil services.
NC leader Mohammad Akbar Lone won the seat.
Booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), he has been in the Tihar jail since 2019. On March 16, 2022, the NIA framed charges against Rashid for allegedly inciting disaffection against the government of India and armed forces. He also faced accusations of accepting funds from Pakistan. He has not been convicted in any case yet.
