Er Rashid Turns Giant Slayer As NC, BJP Win 2 Seats Each

Srinagar: In one of the biggest electoral upsets in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid won over former chief minister Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.
Another former chief minister, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, has also fallen by the wayside in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, where the National Conference (NC) candidate won.
Rashid, who is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a case registered under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), has turned a giant slayer in the Lok sabha polls in the Union Territory as his opponents included People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone, who was trailing at the third place behind Abdullah.
The 56-year-old former MLA from Kupwara district was arrested in 2019 and charged under the UAPA by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the first mainstream politician to be booked under the anti-terror law.
Rashid was first elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from the Langate segment in 2008 and was re-elected in 2014.
According to the Election Commission’s (EC) data for the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, Rashid, an Independent candidate, amassed a total of 472481 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Omar Abdullah by a margin of 204142 votes. Similarly, Sajad Gani Lone who bagged a total of 173239, fell short of 299242 to the AIP patron.
Mir Fayaz of PDP on the other hand stood at a distant fourth position, witnessing a total of mere 27488 votes polled in his favour. Suraiya Nissar, Independent, one among the two female candidates contesting on the seat, bagged 21618 votes.
“I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir,” the NC vice-president said in a post on X at 1:37 pm.
He said the voters have spoken and in a democracy, that is all that matters.
“I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters,” Abdullah said.
Rashid’s son, Abrar, who campaigned extensively for his father, thanked people for their “love and support”.
“I am thankful to the people who not only supported our campaign but showered their love and converted it into votes as well. Winning or losing does not matter much to us. What matters for me is the love we got from the people,” he told reporters.
Mufti, another key player in Jammu and Kashmir’s politics, also had to bite the dust at the hustings as Gujjar leader and NC candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad won from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat.
While NC’s Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi bagged 356866, PDP’s Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra garnered 168450 – conceding a defeat by 188416 votes.
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party’s Mohammad Ashraf Mir saw a total of 65954 votes polled in his favour.
Meanwhile, two sitting MPs Dr. Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore have laid their claim on two seats in Jammu province by defeating Congress’ Ch. Lal Singh and Raman Kumar Bhalla respectively.
Dr. Jitendra Singh bagged 571076 votes as against Ch. Lal Singh’s 446703 votes on Udhampur segment, Jugal Kishore contesting on Jammu segment amassed 687588 as against Raman Bhalla’s 552090 votes.
In Ladakh, Haji Mohammad Hanifa garnered 65259 votes to defeat INC candidate Tsering Namgyal who earned 37397 votes and BJP’s Tashi Gyalson 31956 votes – to win the lone seat. (GNS)
Bharatiya Janata Party was on Tuesday declared winner on both parliamentary seats in Jammu province.
While sitting Member of Parliament Dr. Jitendra Singh defeated his nearest rival Ch. Lal Singh of INC by one lac twenty-four thousand three hundred seventy-three votes to win Udhampur segment, Jugal Kishore, the other sitting MP, defeated Raman Bhalla of INC by a margin of 131540 votes to win Jammu parliamentary constituency.
Dr. Jitendra Singh, as per latest data available on ECI website, bagged a total of 571076 votes, while Kishore amassed a total of 677571 votes.