Er Rashid defeats Omar Abdullah , former J-K CM concedes defeat to rival lodged in Tihar jail

Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has conceded defeat to Abdul Rashid Sheikh, an independent candidate in Baramulla seat

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and leader of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah conceded defeat from North Kashmir's Baramulla constituency as independent candidate Er Rashid. He lost by a margin of by 2,04,142 votes according to the Election Commission of India

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah is contesting from Baramulla. (PTI)

Rashid is currently lodged in Tihar jail alleged for terror-funding activities. He was arrested in 2019 after his name cropped up in a case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Omar Abdullah began his political career in 1998, when he was elected to Lok Sabha, representing the Srinagar constituency. He won re-election in 1999 and 2004.

However, in 2008, he left the Lok Sabha and was elected from the Ganderbal constituency and became the chief minister in 2009, serving until 2014.

Omar, whose party enjoys a stronghold in North Kashmir, had said that he decided to contest from the Baramulla seat because the BJP and the Union government were focused on this constituency.

Baramulla witnessed a multi-cornered contest after jailed leader and former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, joined the fray as an Independent candidate.

His poll campaign was led by his 23-year-old son, Abrar Rashid, who found strong crowds. Rashid has been behind bars since 2019 in an alleged money laundering case related to terror funding. His case is pending before the NIA court in Delhi.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, had also fielded its former Rajya Sabha MP, Fayaz Ahmad Mir.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference fielded its president and former minister Sajjad Lone, who had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate.

Both the National Conference and PDP are constituents of the INDIA bloc but pitted candidates against each other in the three Lok Sabha seats of the Kashmir Valley.

However, the two parties refrained from announcing their candidates for two seats in the Jammu region, but supported the Congress candidates against Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

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.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status and became a Union Territory. A delimitation commission was constituted and asked to carve out Assembly and Parliament seats.

Due to delimitation, the Baramulla constituency underwent significant changes, encompassing 18 assembly constituencies, including Budgam and Beerwah.