Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, or Engineer Rashid as he is popularly known, who was released on interim bail from Tihar Jail, has added an intriguing twist to the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, with many leaders in the Valley questioning the timing of his release.
He had been in jail since August 2019, arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with a terror-funding case. As the chief of the Awami Ittehad Party, he emerged as a dark horse in the Lok Sabha elections in J&K, defeating former chief minister Omar Abdullah by a margin of 2,04,142 votes. His release has stirred the political landscape in the Kashmir Valley, particularly among regional parties who accuse him of being a Bharatiya Janata Party proxy, a charge he denies.
Jammu and Kashmir will have elections in three phases, on September 18, September 25, and October 5, with the votes to be counted on October 8.
Campaign after release
Upon his release from jail, he launched attacks on the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, and BJP, claiming he would oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Naya Kashmir narrative. Later, during a live session on Facebook, he targeted Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, using slurs against the regional leadership.
In his first rally which was organised to thank the people of his Lok Sabha constituency, Rashid claimed votes for him in the earlier polls were against the “oppression". “All people here are on their own and I tell everyone that the vote in Parliament elections was not an emotional outburst but a vote against the oppression," he told a crowd of young and old numbering around 3,000 to 3,500.
The show of strength in Baramulla was anticipated to be larger, but Rashid and his candidates managed to draw only a modest crowd. “People of Kashmir are not happy throwing stones; they are reacting to oppression. I tell BJP that they should start negotiations and peace talks to resolve the Kashmir issue, otherwise, they will not exist," Rashid warned the government.
Known as a firebrand leader, he is also a two-time MLA from the Langate constituency in north Kashmir and has never shied away from controversy, even during his tenure as a legislator in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2015, BJP legislators assaulted him in the J&K assembly for hosting a beef party at Srinagar’s MLA Hostel.
Addressing his first rally after his release, he declared, “Give me 50 more engineers in the assembly, and I will solve the Kashmir issues. I ask my candidates not to succumb to greed."
In his speeches, Rashid has also spoken about separatists imprisoned for alleged anti-India activities. Attempting to evoke emotional resonance, he mentioned two Kashmiris buried in Tihar Jail premises: Separatist Maqbool Bhat and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. “My cell was just 150 metres from the graves of Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru, and if I too died there, the price for us would still be too little," he remarked.
Rashid labelled former J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who formed a government with the BJP, as the “biggest traitor" after Sheikh Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah. Rashid won the Langate constituency as an independent candidate in the 2008 assembly elections and retained it in the 2014 elections.
Why does Engineer matter?
The party led by Rashid has fielded 34 candidates so far for the assembly elections, including his younger brother, Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, who resigned from government service to contest from Langate.
Many believe Rashid won the Lok Sabha seat due to a sympathy wave, fueled by relentless campaigning by his sons, who conveyed to the electorate that their father’s victory would lead to his release. Analysts suggest that Rashid also garnered votes from those who support separatism in the Valley.
Data from the Lok Sabha constituencies in the Baramulla segment, available to News18, shows that Rashid secured the highest number of votes in 15 out of the 18 assembly segments, outperforming NC candidate Omar Abdullah, who has a strong influence in north Kashmir.
Since his release, he has spoken mostly against the National Conference and the PDP, invoking how both were responsible for the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Until his release, the NC was believed to have a strong hold on constituencies but this can now change with his campaigning. His political opponents have questioned the change in his stand that the pre-abrogation of Article 370 was rai-shumari or self-determination for Kashmir.
"BJP opposed Arvind Kejriwal's bail, speaking against it across the country and when Rashid has been released ahead of the elections the same way, the BJP is welcoming it, so it looks fishy," former J&K CM Omar Abdullah had said, adding that people had voted emotionally in the Parliament elections for him.
Omar suspects his release can divide voters and that can help the BJP. "People have to think; they voted emotionally in Parliament against me but now they should think to keep the BJP out," he said.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has questioned the release of the MP. "His candidates are picked by the agencies to cut the votes of other parties. How do they get money to campaign?" Mehbooba asked. She said it took her father 50 years to build a party and still they lack resources while the Engineer's party has sufficient funds.
Though Rashid and his party may not have much impact in the south, the battle for north Kashmir seems evident with the NC. Separatist sympathisers, who have gone underground, might find a voice in Rashid, who is aiming for a significant win in the historic Jammu and Kashmir elections. However, only time will tell if his impact remains the same as in the Lok Sabha elections, as parties have intensified their efforts against him.
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