Baramulla, Kreeri, Uri: The political dynamics of North Kashmir are shifting dramatically with the return of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, affectionately called Engineer Rashid. Recently granted bail by the Supreme Court in a controversial “terror funding” case, Rashid is back on the ground, rallying support for his Awami Itihad Party (AIP).
Despite not being officially registered, AIP candidates are campaigning under various symbols across constituencies. On September 19, Rashid commenced his journey from Srinagar to Uri in Baramulla to campaign for his party candidate in the border district. His travel faced the dual challenges of addressing supporters and participating in an online court hearing.
With few vehicles in his cavalcade, along the way, he stopped at a restaurant and a petrol station to stay connected with the legal proceedings.
Taking little pauses in between his journey, Rashid’s first stop to appear in the hearing came in the Shalteng area, outskirts of the Srinagar district. Rashid stopped his vehicle and entered a small restaurant to appear in the online hearing.
The second stop came almost after an hour as his vehicle stopped at a petrol pump in the Pattan area. Spending a few minutes inside the resting room of the petrol pump, Rashid hastily sat in an Innova car, a private vehicle he was travelling in, and resumed his journey. Interestingly, he didn’t use a government-allotted Bolero car in his cavalcade during his travel, even though the car escorted him all the way to Uri.
Waving at him, people on the roadside greeted him with a smile as soon as they spotted Rashid inside the car. As his vehicle reached the Sangrama area, posters with a picture of Rashid and his party candidate Shoib Nabi Lone, a former lawmaker from the area became more visible, with a road-roller symbol.
The son of the slain education minister Ghulam Nabi Lone, Shoaib Lone was associated with the Congress party in 2014. Lone left the Congress party and joined Apni party led by Syed Altaf Bukhari. After a short stay in the party, Lone deserted it in 2020 and joined the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) led by Ghulam Nabi Azad. Lone has switched party allegiances multiple times and is now standing firmly with Rashid and campaigned for him during the recent Lok Sabha elections.
After Lone parted ways with DPAP, a senior leader of the party, Taj Mohiuddin, speaking to the media, called Lone’s resignation as surprising as he claimed that DPAP had supported Engineer Rashid from the beginning. “I don’t know why Shoib resigned, but we as a party have backed Engineer Rashid from day one. I even spoke with his son. Our workers have been campaigning from the start,” Taj had said.
With its pre-poll alliance with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, AIP is aiming to gain the support of voters who have never voted and followed the boycott formula.
A residential house, that turned into the AIP office in the Sangrama area, became the third stop for Rashid to appear in the court hearing, which was underway.
As Rashid continued his journey, he was greeted warmly by supporters, with banners promoting both him and Lone. However, they face a significant obstacle: the confusion over party symbols, with Lone’s campaign symbol now assigned to an independent candidate.
This confusion among the voters has become a huge concern for Lone. When Rashid sought privacy and shifted to another room to appear in the hearing, one party worker raised the concern about the symbol with Lone. “We will request Er Sahab to issue a statement that the pressure cooker is not an AIP symbol.” Posters pasted on the walls of the house and on roadsides with a big road-roller picture, an even bigger one than the party candidate and Rashid show how much struggle the AIP candidate faces after the pressure cooker was allotted to another independent candidate.
“We will accompany him till Kreeri and return to our areas to ensure that we reach every household and urge them to support us,” Lone said to his workers before Rashid came out of another room and boarded a car.
With cars and bikes decorated with the posters of Er Rashid, AIP workers started escorting his vehicle. On reaching Kreeri, people chanted slogans praising the leadership of Rashid. One guy raised the slogan “Kreeri ki Majboori hai” and the rest of the crowd said, “Engineer Zaroori hai”.
In a spirited rally at Kreeri, Rashid addressed the crowd, insisting on the importance of AIP’s accountability-focused politics while criticising his political rivals. He denounced the BJP’s narrative of a “Naya Kashmir” and rejected any notion of being a BJP proxy, emphasizing his unique position as a victim of the system.
Sitting next to him on the shop front turned stage, Lone whispered in his ear, “Tell them that AIP has a road-roller symbol in Baramulla”.
The rally stretched to almost a kilometre when it reached Chandanwari where Rashid stopped again for a brief address. “Tell me who is the vote cutter. Both Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah lost the Lok Sabha elections. I won the Lok Sabha election with a huge margin against the former chief minister but they still call me a vote cutter. They are the vote cuter and they need to understand it,” Rashid said.
Rashid was over 25 kilometres from his final stop, Uri. With a caravan of supporters, Rashid reached Uri to campaign for his party candidate Er Munir. People had gathered in the playground in front of the police station. Seeking votes for Munir, Rashid thanked the Uri people for extending their support to him during Lok Sabha election. “People need to decide who are the agents of BJP?” Rashid asked the people, adding that the government spent Rs 3.5 crore on the maintenance of ministers detained at SKICC.
“The BJP does not exist in Kashmir. It is the PDP and the NC who are orchestrating propaganda against me to cover up their own failures. Does that mean I should stay at home and stop doing politics?” Rashid said in response to a question about being labelled a proxy for the BJP in Kashmir.
“I have exposed their politics. This is the first time issue-based politics focused on Kashmir is being done. There is accountability, and the concerns of ordinary people are being brought to the forefront. I was in jail for over five years while they were enjoying themselves,” he said.
Rashid firmly denounced the BJP’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ slogan, calling it a “hoax,” and stated that the abrogation of Article 370 was a “mistake.”
“Our fight is against the bureaucratic rule, Inspector Raj. Why would people show their identity cards 10 times a day to army men? They (army) should not breach our privacy. I am a victim of the BJP and I can’t join hands with them. I was booked by the BJP. I am Er Rashid, and I don’t need anyone’s certificate i need your support to stay strong.”
Baramulla MP further said that he would become the Chowkidaar of the people and make the government fulfil their demands by emerging as a strong voice with the supports of voters.
“The people who accuse me of being a BJP proxy should feel ashamed. I am the only one who was victimised by the BJP. While Omar and Mehbooba were kept in SKICC for several months during the abrogation, I was the only MLA jailed in Tihar,” said Rashid.
Supporters who accompanied chanted,” Tihar ka Taala Tooth gaya, Engineer chooth gaya( Locks of Tihar shatter, Engineer got released) ”. “We are supporting him as he carries no baggage and has always spoken for the welfare of the people,” Sajad Ahmad said.
Hopeful for the victory of AIP, Sajad, who accompanied the engineer from Kreeri to Uri, criticised the politicians for calling Rashid an agent. “They have always collaborated with people who have criminalised Kashmiris, how can they call someone with no history of crime an agent of the BJP”.
“We know what is better for us, this election will throw up many surprises to traditional parties,” he added vowing to support the AIP to become an alternative party for the commonners in the Jammu and Kashmir.
Taking a leave from his supporters, Rashid sent a strong message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the border area of Uri, ” I want to tell Modi Ji, don’t scare us and don’t be scared, this place is ours and we have absolute rights over it”.
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