Engineer Rashid, a two-time MLA from the Langate constituency, won the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, defeating former chief minister Omar Abdullah. Since 2019, he has been incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar Jail after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a 2017 terror-funding case. Recently, the Delhi Patiala House Court granted him interim bail until October 2 to campaign for the assembly elections. Rashid's brother, Khurshid Ahmad, is a candidate for the Awami Ittihad Party (AIP), which Rashid leads, in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections 2024. He is contesting from the Langate assembly constituency in North Kashmir.