Parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir: four months to develop a new election manifesto | India News – Times of India

SRINAGAR: Elections can get in the way of expectations. Abdul Rashid Sheikh, aka Engineer Rashidwas in Tihar jail when he carried out – in absentia – a gigantic act of murder in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency that few could have imagined, let alone expected.
The buzz was that Rashid’s fellow participants, Omar Abdullah, of National Conference and Sajad Gani Lone from People’s Conferencewould find it difficult to come to terms with the humiliating defeat by over two lakh votes each at the hands of a rival locked in a terror financing case.
Just four months later, Omar is on track to become CM for the second time, Lone has retained his seat in Handwara and Rashid is left to wonder how electoral sentiment can change faster than the seasons.
Langate, where Rashid fielded his brother Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, was the only bright spot for his little boy. Awami Ittehad Party of the 34 contests it was part of in the first election of J&K as a Union Territory.
“Power is not something permanent. The world is watching us,” Rashid said as the counting of votes began on Tuesday morning.
The context of the comment was different – ​​he was talking about “letting the people of J&K live and enjoy their rights” – but this could very well have been the voice of the electorate in Rashid’s ear at the end of the day.
Much of voters’ disillusionment with Rashid’s outfit, which has yet to be recognized by the election commission, may have been influenced by the way his rivals conducted their campaign. His release on bail from September 11 to October 2, which coincided with the three-phase elections, prompted Omar to label him as a ‘BJP proxy’.
Rashid disputed the charge, saying Omar should have known better as he had “enjoyed life in Gulmarg and London” while languishing in jail for five years. “He should have learned his lesson when I defeated him by over two lakh votes.”
Shortly after Tuesday’s ruling, Rashid attributed the defeat of all but one of his 34 candidates to Omar and Sajad Lone working together to defeat them. “Now can Omar tell us who is BJP’s B-team?” he said.
“Senior BJP functionary Tarun Chugh openly told Farooq Abdullah that if he revealed who all were secretly meeting the party leadership, the political careers of many would be over. Why hasn’t NC said anything about it?”