Jammu Kashmir National Conference leader, currently facing terror financing charges, and losing candidate for the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, has stated that Sheikh’s victory will provide a new sense of hope to “defeated” the Islamist movement in Kashmir and empower the secessionists. Engineer Rashid had won the elections, while Abdullah had lost.
“Rashid’s victory will undoubtedly empower secessionists and give Kashmir’s defeated Islamist movement a renewed sense of hope,” Omar Abdullah said in a post on X. “Efforts to bring secessionism back into electoral politics led New Delhi to support “The rise of the People’s Democratic Party and its alliance with the BJP ended up strengthening the violent secessionists, not incorporating them, a warning of the unpredictable results of trying to manipulate politics,” he added Omar Abdullah’s comments provoked. strong criticism from Waheed Para, of the PDP, who accused Abdullah of not recognizing the people’s mandate.
Disappointed beyond measure by the retrograde stance of Omar Abdullah, who echoes the polarizing politics of 1987 and refers to a democratic expression as an “Islamist wave.” Due to his family’s connection with the Muslim Conference, there will always be friction between Kashmir and the State and demands for the exclusion of Er Rashid, the PDP and the JEI. A more responsible course of action would have been to recognize the mandate, just as Mehbooba Mufti did when he called for the release of Engineer Rashid.
Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid, campaigned as an independent for Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and defeated Omar Abdullah. Having obtained 47,2481 votes, he won by a margin of 204,142 votes. Mehbooba Mufti, PDP leader and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, praised Engineer Rashid for his release on Wednesday and asked the government to respect the people’s decision.
“Heartfelt congratulations to Mian Altaf, Aga Ruhullah, Engineer Rashid and Haneefa Jan for winning the parliamentary elections. The government of India must respect the people’s verdict and release Engineer Rashid,” Mufti said in a post on X. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, apart from Rashid winning the Baramulla seat, the National Conference and the BJP won two seats each in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP did not field any candidate in Kashmir.
(With contributions from ANI)