Is Rashid Engineer’s Awami Ittehad Party a proxy for the BJP? Is the man accused of funding terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir and still languishing in jail despite defeating a stalwart like Omar Abdullah is in the fray to play as a spoilsport for many big players? When PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti accused him of being a stooge of the centre, most of the people were not shocked as this was the image that the newly-elected MP from Baramulla is associated with.

Rashid Engineer Sends Shockwaves

After Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, widely known as Rashid Engineer, defeated a political giant and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from Baramulla in the Lok Sabha Election 2024 with an unimaginable margin of 472,481 votes, questions have been raised about his resources, popularity, and the values. His popularity can be understood by the fact that he got almost double the number of votes polled by Abdullah and Sajjad Gani Lone combined.

Mehbooba Mufti Questions AIP

Mufti wondered how the man languishing in jail could raise and run a party that has entered into the electoral fray. The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir questioned wherefrom the money required for fighting the polls comes.

Talking to journalists in Anantnag, the PDP chief bemoaned that her party is still facing an economic crisis and finding it difficult to manage money for the election irrespective of the fact that her father established the party 50 years back. She also warned other parties and the voters not to get trapped in the snare set by the BJP.

Who is Rashid Engineer?

Though Rashid has pleaded innocent and said that he has nothing to do with terror funding, he is still languishing in Delhi’s Tihar jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967, facing terror funding charges. Rashid has also claimed that he never advocated violence but encouraged people to take part in democratic processes to fight for their rights.

Political Journey of Rashid Engineer

Despite creating ripples after the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Rashid is not new to politics as his active involvement in politics goes back to 1978 when he joined the People’s Conference as a teenager. Led by Abdul Ghani Lone, the father of Sajid Lone, the People’s Conference was part of the separatist political camp. Engineer Rashid later shunned separatist politics and joined the government service as a civil engineer.

The civil engineer-turned-politician joined mainstream politics in 2008 when he won assembly elections from the Langate constituency of Kupwara district. He won again in the 2014 assembly elections and subsequently established his own Awami Ittehad Party. Rashid tried his luck in the Lok Sabha Election 2014 from the Baramulla constituency but in vain. Ittehad Awam Party has not yet been recognized by the Election Commission.

Who Is Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh?

Rashid Engineer’s younger brother Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh too has thrown his hat into the electoral net as he is contesting from the Langate assembly constituency of Kupwara in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024.

He will be in the fray against Irfan Panditpuri of the People’s Conference and Syed Ghulam Nabi of the People’s Democratic Party. Ishfaq Ahmad of the National Conference-Congress coalition and Dr Kaleemullah, son of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghulam Qadir Lone, an Independent. Independent candidates will also be fighting from Langate.

AIP’s Rank Swells

The Awam Ittehad Party or the AIP has been joined by the son of a former Hurriyat Conference Secretary and JKPC leader, workers from the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and many others who did not find refuge in the party of their choice.

AIP Repeating PDP’s Politics?

Political analysts believe the AIP is repeating the game played by the PDP during the late 1990s when it made the electoral debut and ultimately formed a government in coalition with the Congress. Engineer’s son Abrar Rashid, is spearheading the electoral battle for his party. Slamming the political party of Jammu and Kashmir, he said that the ‘regional parties’ are ‘building palaces out of the blood spilled by Kashmiri youth’.

What next? Will Rashid Engineers do what Asaduddin Owaisi has been accused of doing, splitting the anti-BJP votes to help the saffron party? Some more water needs to flow down the Jhelum River before the answer to this question is found.