In jail on UAPA charges, Engineer Rashid to contest from Baramulla on Awami Ittehad Party ticket

Srinagar, Mar 20 (PTI) Engineer Rashid, who is currently lodged in jail on UAPA charges, will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency on an Awami Ittehad Party ticket.

Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid (56) is a former MLA.

He was arrested in 2019 and charged by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), becoming the first mainstream politician to be booked under the stringent anti-terror law.

“The political affairs committee of the Awami Ittehad Party decided that we will field Engineer Rashid as our candidate from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency,” Firdous Baba, the party’s spokesperson, said on Wednesday.

The party is hopeful that Rashid will be released from prison before the elections, he said.

“In case that does not happen, it has been decided that Rashid will contest the polls from jail. Our Constitution allows an accused person, who is not convicted, to contest elections from jail,” Baba added.

Rashid was first elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from Langate in 2008 and re-elected in 2014.

He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla, finishing in third place.