From 800 km away, dark horse Engineer Rashid unsettles the Baramulla race

In the absence of his father, formally known as Sheikh Abdul Rashid, Abrar, 23, and brother Asrar, 21, are leading the fight. Rashid has been in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody since 2019 in an alleged money laundering case related to terror funding. The case is pending before the NIA court in Delhi.

His presence in the Baramulla seat race is being projected as a symbol of defiance against the government, with his campaign slogans and energy carrying the intensity of separatist rallies of the past. At the same time, the fact that Engineer’s campaign is appealing to those disillusioned with the mainstream parties in the Valley, and have been a part of “boycott politics”, is a vote of confidence in the electoral system.

If Abrar recognises the irony, he doesn’t show it. Addressing a rally in Seelo, Sopore, on Saturday, he says: “Muje pata hai, aap boycott wale ho (I know you have supported boycotting elections in the past)… But promise me, this time you will not. This time, you will come out and vote… You will vote for the pressure cooker (the election symbol of Rashid)”.

With youths the most enthusiastic participants at the rallies for Rashid, Abrar adds: “I thought I was alone. I can’t get him (Rashid) out of jail… But now I know that the people of Kashmir are behind me.”

Almost on cue, more slogans rise from the crowd: “Ghar, ghar, Engineer (Engineer in every house)”; “Farooq banoge? Na bhai na. Sajad banoge? Na bhai na (Will you become Farooq Abdullah, Sajad Lone? No, never)”.

These slogans are not too dissimilar from those heard at the widespread protests in the Valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

A resident of Qalamabad in Langate, in Kupwara district, Rashid was an employee with Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation. His interest in politics led him to become an aide of Hurriyat leader and Sajad Lone’s father Abdul Gani Lone. In early 2000, Rashid shot to the spotlight when he launched a campaign against alleged forced labour by the Army in Langate.

Supporters at Abrar Rashid’s rally, to campaign for his father Engineer Rashid. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

After Abdul Gani’s assassination, Rashid sided with Sajad and they seemed ready to take the plunge into electoral politics in 2008. But Sajad changed his mind after the Amarnath land row agitation, and Rashid parted ways to contest as an Independent for the Assembly elections. His goodwill in the Langate seat helped him win, but fostered a bitter rivalry with Sajad.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, Rashid won again, on the strength of his brand of politics that put him apart from the mainstream parties and bordered separatism, thus filling a crucial middle. He built on it further with his anti-BJP and Kashmiri nationalism stand. A “beef party” thrown by him even saw a scuffle in the Assembly, with BJP MLAs, who were part of the ruling coalition with the PDP, beating him up. Rashid then demanded and hoisted the contested J&K flag at Srinagar’s Pratap Park.

In wake of the Burhan Wani killing, the unrest in the Valley and the collapse of the PDP-BJP government in 2018, Rashid contested from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 parliamentary elections, backed by bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal (who has since returned to his old profession). While Rashid finished third in his first Lok Sabha contest, he got over a lakh votes.

Months later, came the abrogation of Article 370, and Rashid’s arrest.

The loyal support base nurtured by him, further fuelled by his arrest, is what his campaign is banking on now.

Abrar Rashid addressing a campaign rally in Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

“We have seen lots of promises by other leaders, but they have not done anything. We don’t ask them for development, we don’t ask them for employment. We only wanted dignity from them, we wanted a life without fear, without arrests and detention,” says a 27-year-old, who is at the roadshow for Rashid that crossed several villages of Zainageer in Sopore on Saturday, but who like the others does not want to be identified for fear of “repercussions”.

He adds: “Rashid sahib was alone in the Assembly but he raised the voice for Kashmir, for us, for our dignity. Whether he could do anything or not, he raised his voice for us. That’s why we are here today.”

Though initially Rashid’s entry was seen as harming Sajad’s chances, now NC leaders confess that the crowds he drew have them worried that he will take away a chunk of the anti-BJP votes as well.

A 32-year-old from Bomai village may be among those voters. “There has been so much fear these last five years that we have not been able to voice our opinion even on development issues. There is pent-up anger and this rally has given us a chance to vent it,” he says. “I am not sure if I will vote, but if I vote, I will vote for him (Rashid).”