Baramulla Election Result 2024: Jailed Engineer Rashid Defeats Omar Abdullah, Sajad Lone

One of the most closely-watched fights in the lok sabha election 2024 was Kashmir's Baramulla constituency, where independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, has emerged victorious, defeating Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader, and Sajad Lone, former minister and People's Conference president, with a huge margin.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, Rashid Engineer won 472481 votes, defeating Omar by over two lac votes and Sajad by nearly three lac votes.

Omar conceded defeat and wrote on X: “I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. 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.”

Sajad Lone wrote: "With all humility at my command I accept defeat. And it is time to congratulate Engineer Rashid. I wanted to make a difference. I thought we should be empowered economically , socially and politically to be able to make a difference and be counted. We had suffered a lot in the past 30 yrs and been robbed of all our dignity. The people’s mandate is supreme. I accept the people mandate with all humility"

The Baramulla constituency witnessed a multi-cornered contest, with Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party's Mir Mohammad Fayaz also in the fray. However, it is Engineer Rashid who has taken a significant lead, despite being behind bars since 2019 in an alleged money laundering case related to terror funding. His son, 23-year-old Abrar Rashid, led his poll campaign.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections, Mohammad Akbar Lone of JKNC won in this seat, defeating Raja Aijaz Ali of JKPC. The estimated voter turnout in Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was 59.10 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission of India.

In other news, another former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, who is the president of PDP, lost to National Conference’s Gujjar leader Mian Altaf by over two lakh votes in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.

On the other hand, the BJP did not field any candidate in the Kashmir Valley for the Lok Sabha elections and appealed to the people of the bordering region to vote for any party except the Congress, National Conference (JKNC), and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), citing that it was supporting patriotic parties.