Independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh, commonly known as Engineer Rashid, gained prominence after being thrashed by BJP legislators in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in October 2015 for hosting a beef party in Srinagar’s MLA Hostel. Now, he is all set to play spoilsport in north Kashmir’s Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency that goes to polls in the fifth phase on 20 May.
The former chief minister and vice president of the National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah, and former separatist and chairman of the Peoples Conference (PC), Sajjad Gani Lone, are the main contenders for the seat. However, they face competition from a total of 22 candidates vying for the position.
The Baramulla Lok Sabha seat has been a stronghold of the NC and Congress. With the Congress being a partner in the INDIA bloc, it is supporting Omar Abdullah. The PDP won the seat only once in 2014 when Muzaffar Hussain Baig was the party candidate.
Engineer Rashid is contesting the election from behind bars in Delhi’s Tihar jail, while his son Abrar Rashid is leading a fully charged election campaign. Engineer Rashid has been in Tihar jail since 2019 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). In March 2022, the National Investigation Agency framed charges against him for allegedly inciting disaffection against the government of India and the armed forces. He is also facing allegations of receiving funds from Pakistan.
Before Engineer Rashid tossed his hat in the poll arena, the contest in Baramulla was considered to be directly between Omar Abdullah and Sajjad Lone. However, due to sympathy factors, Rashid now has the potential to cut into the votes of NC and PC. Moreover, there are reports of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) of former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad lending support to Engineer Rashid.
Engineer Rashid, who is a two-time MLA, also contested the Lok Sabha election in 2019 and finished third by polling slightly over a lakh votes against NC’s Mohammad Akbar Lone. At that time, he was reportedly supported by a bureaucrat-turned-politician, Shah Faesal, who floated the J&K Peoples Movement. However, his resignation as an IAS officer was later not accepted by the BJP government, and now he has been posted in the central secretariat.
Another noteworthy candidate is Munir Ahmad Khan of the J&K Nationalist Peoples Front. He is the brother of separatist Nayeem Khan, who has been jailed in a terror-related case. Nayeem headed the J&K National Front that has been banned by the government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Coming to the two main contenders, Omar Abdullah has for the first time shifted to Baramulla from his traditional Srinagar constituency that he earlier represented. His father and NC chief Dr Farooq Abdullah is the sitting MP from Srinagar.
Lone, who was an MLA from the Baramulla district and a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government from the latter’s quota, had in 2009 also contested the Lok Sabha seat and finished at third place when he polled 65,403 votes against Sharifuddin Shariq of the NC who got more than 2 lakh votes.
However, the Srinagar visit of Home Minister Amit Shah days before polling for Baramulla has sent the signal to the Pahari community of Uri, Kupwara, Gurez, and other segments to support Lone. Pahari leaders, who had come to meet Shah, said they were indebted to the BJP for having provided Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the community and 10% reservation in jobs.
Among other candidates, Arun Kumar Raina is the only migrant Kashmiri Pandit contesting the election from Baramulla. He currently resides in Jammu. Besides, two women are also in the fray as independent candidates.