Srinagar, Kashmir: Election campaigning in Kashmiri capital Srinagar has become something of a soprano performance. The higher the pitch of sloganeering, the logic seems to be, the better one’s shot at wooing voters. Enthusiasm appears to be high in Kashmir for the ongoing assembly election, which is taking place after 10 years. A lot has changed since. When the previous assembly election was held in 2014, the contest was primarily between the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A decade later — the local political landscape transformed in the aftermath of the scrapping of Article 370 and 35A in 2019, J&K’s recategorisation as a Union territory — the traditional heavyweights face a considerable challenge from smaller parties like the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, aka Engineer Rashid, and the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP).
Rashid, who emerged as the dark horse of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by winning Baramulla while in jail, said there is a reason he has struck a chord with voters.
While all the other political parties of Kashmir are busy doing “tactical alliances”, he said, it is only his party that is participating in the polls to address the “genuine concerns of the people of Kashmir”.
Rashid, 59, spoke to ABP Live at his Srinagar residence in the thick of the campaign heat. Dressed in his usual grey cotton Khan suit, Rashid sipped kahwa and munched on tchot, the traditional Kashmiri flatbread, as he talked about his campaign and how he managed to defeat former chief minister Omar Abdullah of the NC by over 200,00 votes in Baramulla.
An undercurrent of anger animating his voice, he said the Kashmir issue “has become a mess”. “It should come out of it… The Kashmir issue should get resolved. Kashmiris should get good governance…” he added. “Not only the Modi government, but successive governments of India, from 1947 to date, have made fake and false promises. They keep on adding new promises, only to break the old ones,” added Rashid, a former two-time MLA from the Langate constituency of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.
Out on bail, Rashid is currently campaigning in Srinagar for his party. He was released on September 11 after a Delhi court granted him interim bail till October 2 — a day after polling ends — in a case pertaining to terror-funding allegations. Then, he will be back in Tihar.
“In 2024 (Lok Sabha polls), angels did not vote for me. Kashmiris voted for me. It was not just people’s support, but it was a people’s movement. And, at that time, I had no connection with people,” he said. “So, people like Omar Abdullah and some others said I got sympathy vote, and that it was a victory of the radicals and Islamists, while some called me a BJP proxy… Truth is people voted for my commitment and dedication during my 11 years as MLA in Langate. People could see I was singled out and sent to Tihar,” he added, breaking down.
Wiping away his tears, Rashid regained his composure and added that the government should understand that “killing militants is different from killing militancy… Militancy comes from the mind”.
“My agenda is to take Kashmiris out of the mess and give them hope that we are there for you, and that we will not surrender and we will not be suppressed,” he said. “We will sincerely work on every grievance a Kashmiri has today,” he told ABP Live, surrounded by party workers, and members of the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir — the banned religious-political outfit once associated with militancy but now eager to join the electoral process again.
Jamaat, banned since 2019, has joined hands with the AIP. The alliance was announced on September 16, just days before the elections were to take place.
“Jamaat is good for Kashmir. We strongly condemn their banning. It was unjustified and never should have happened. Jamaat has contributed for the Kashmiri society,” he highlighted.
He also said that Jamaat has helped in alleviation of poverty.
When Jamaat leaders filed their nomination papers, it was accepted, which means technically the government accepted their role and so the question of ban doesn’t exist, he said.
However, he added that there has been an understanding between the AIP and Jamaat that “there is no place for violence in Kashmir and we will fight politically for the cause of Kashmir”.
The J&K assembly elections are taking place in three phases. The first phase of polling took place on September 18, with the next scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, and the third for October 1.
The AIP has fielded 34 candidates in the election. Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, Rashid’s younger brother, is fighting from his old seat of Langate in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
In August 2019, the Modi government revoked Article 370 and 35A, which gave Jammu and Kashmir a semi-autonomous status among some other privileges. The same year, J&K was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
During the Lok Sabha polls, both Omar Abdullah of the NC and the PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti told ABP Live that they will push the Centre in getting Article 370 restored.
On the issue of restoration of Article 370, a demand — and promise — that has been unanimously made by all political parties in the Kashmir Valley, Rashid said, “Article 370 and 35A (revocation) was shifting of goalposts by Modi ji. The issue is bigger than Article 370, although we certainly want it to be restored. But the main issue is, let all of us sincerely talk about Kashmir resolution.”
“I am not saying give Kashmir to Pakistan. I am not saying give Kashmir azadi. I am saying let us all sit together, all stakeholders, and resolve things once and for all.”
As the interview proceeded, a constant stream of AIP workers kept trickling into Rashid’s Jawahar Nagar House. Sitting between them, the MP sought to explain why resolving the Kashmir issue was key. “Kashmir has become a hurdle for India,” he said.
“It has become a hurdle in [India] becoming a permanent member at the United Nations. It has become a hurdle for the people of Kashmir and India to trust each other sincerely. It has become a hurdle for our development,” he added.
“If trade routes with Pakistan open up, Kashmiri fruit exports can reach Europe, especially apples, which are the backbone of our economy. Then there are the divided families.”
“We are making all the mistakes Pakistan wants us to make… We want the Kashmir issue to be resolved as per the Constitution. But you said, bring (section) 53 and then settle the issue. What is the way out?” he added.
Section 53 of The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, stipulates that the Lieutenant Governor can act in his discretion in certain critical matters relating to legislation and law.
“Kashmir cannot be resolved by abrogating Article 370… What is the roadmap? What is the meeting point? Their only way is oppression and suppression,” Rashid added.
Rashid, arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), questioned the rationale behind his incarceration. “I have been wronged. I was never a politician,” he added. “I was an activist. That’s why I am a target.”
