Former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, on Tuesday, conceded defeat to his rival and Independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who has earned the moniker Engineer Rashid, in the Baramulla seat in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

“I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters,” Omar Abdullah wrote on X (formally Twitter).

He has been defeated by Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who is leading with a margin of over 2 lakh votes, as the counting is still underway.

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Who is Sheikh Abdul Rashid?

  • Sheikh Abdul Rashid, colloquially known as Engineer Rashid, a former two-time MLA who heads the Awami Ittehad Party and was one of 22 candidates in the fray from Baramulla.
  • While he leads the Awami Ittehad Party, he has contested the elections as an Independent.
  • Rashid is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in a terror-funding case.
  • Sheikh Abdul 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.
  • His two sons Abrar Rashid and Asrar Rashid, who led the election campaign for their father in this electoral cycle, expressed confidence that the massive crowds witnessed in the rallies would turn into votes for Rashid, leading to his release from prison.
  • However, Omar Abdullah countered this confidence by saying, “I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters.”
  • Earlier in 2008 and 2014, Rashid won the Langate assembly segment. He had also unsuccessfully contested the Parliamentary elections in 2019.

Rashid has turned into a giant slayer in the Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory as his opponents also included People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone.