Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) on Monday (April 29) filed the nomination papers of its jailed leader Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir. The party's office bearers submitted the nomination papers on behalf of Rashid to the returning officer for the constituency, which is scheduled for polls on May 20 during the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
National Conference leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with People's Conference President Sajad Gani Lone, are also in the fray from Baramulla.
Engineer Rashid was arrested in 2019
Engineer Rashid is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi. The 56-year-old former MLA from Handwara was arrested in 2019 and accused by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), marking him as the first mainstream politician to face charges under the anti-terror law.
Rashid was first elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from the Langate segment in 2008 and secured reelection from the same seat in 2014. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he contested from the Baramulla constituency and stood third.
Jammu and Kashmir Lok Sabha Elections 2024
Polling in Srinagar and Baramulla will take place in the fourth (May 13) and fifth (May 20) phases, during the Lok Sabha elections. Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh have a total of six Lok Sabha seats. Three seats are in Kashmir, two in Jammu and one in Ladakh.
Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir are -- Anantnag-Rajouri, Baramulla, and Srinagar. In Jammu -- Udhampur and Jammu and one Ladakh.
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) has entered into an alliance with Congress in the two Union Territories. Farooq Abdullah's party will contest on three Kashmir seats -- namely Anantnag-Rajouri, Baramulla, and Srinagar, whereas, the Congress party will contest in Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh. Both the parties are part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc to counter BJP-led NDA.
Earlier, Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) led by former CM Mehbooba Mufti was also part of the opposition's alliance, however, after no settlement was reached on seat-sharing, Mehbooba pulled out of the alliance.
Now, PDP will also contest on three seats in Kashmir while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with alliance partners will be contesting on all five seats in Jammu-Kashmir.
Baramulla is one of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir. The state has 6 parliamentary seats. The Baramulla seat comprises 16 Assembly segments including Karnah, Kupwara, Lolab, Handwara, Langate, Uri, Rafiabad, Sopore, Gurez, Bandipora, Sonawari, Sangrama, Baramulla, Gulmarg, Pattan and Delhiudhampurjammu. The constituency is a general seat.
The JKN and the JPC are the main parties in the constituency. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Mohammad Akbar Lone from JKN won the seat with a margin of 30,233 votes. Mohammad Akbar Lone was polled 133,426 votes with a vote share of 29.00 per cent and defeated Raja Aijaz Ali from JPC who got 103,193 votes (22.63 per cent). In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Muzaffar Hussain Baig from J&K PDP won the seat and was polled 175,277 votes with a vote share of 37.61 per cent. JKN candidate Sharief Ud-din Shariq got 146,058 votes (31.34 per cent) and was the runner-up. Muzaffar Hussain Baig defeated Sharief Ud-din Shariq by a margin of 29,219 votes.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir CM, to contest Lok Sabha Elections from Baramulla
