Out-of-jail Engineer Rashid fails to leave mark, party wins just one seat in Kashmir

Only four months ago, jailed leader Engineer Rashid had emerged ‘giant killer’ in the General Election, when he defeated NC vice-chief Omar Abdullah and People Conference chief Sajad Lone from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat.

Cut to September 11, 2024 and Rashid was granted bail in a UAPA case, a few weeks ahead of the J&K Assembly elections. Several regional players had then alleged that Rashid had been let out to help the BJP divide their votes in the Valley, and a predominant feeling had emerged that his party’s alliance with Jamaat-backed candidates would severely dent the chances of the NC-Congress alliance, which had hitherto seemed to be the potential winner in the election. However, today when the results have been announced, his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) failed to have a major impact in the election, with the party winning only a single seat in the Valley.

When Rashid was granted interim bail last month, the AIP had claimed that his release would change the dynamics of Kashmir politics.

His campaign during the elections, however, failed to create a similar wave like during the LS poll, when Rashid had won from Baramulla and the AIP had secured a lead in 15 of 18 Assembly segments of the Baramulla LS seat.

After coming out of jail, Rashid’s opponents accused him of being a BJP proxy, stating that he had been sent out of jail to divide votes. While he denied the charge of being a BJP proxy, Rashid was confident that he would win several seats. He also faced the question of whether he should field his brother Sheikh Khursheed in the Langate seat, despite earlier stating that no one from his family would ever join politics.

Khursheed did contest from Langate and it is in fact the only seat where the AIP could win, with a margin of 1,602 votes. Across Kashmir, most AIP candidates stood second in Tuesday’s vote count.