Big loser tag certainly hurts: Omar Abdullah on Lok Sabha election results

Abdullah was defeated by jailed former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid by a margin of 2,04,142 votes.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that “the big loser tag certainly hurts”.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister made these remarks while responding to a recent news article which referred to him and BJP leader Smriti Irani among others as the “big losers” of the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“The “big loser” tag certainly hurts but it’s an election, you win some you lose some and life goes on. “Never Give In is our motto; strive till the set of sun; And we learn it’s truth; In the days of youth on the long Hodson run; For though your heart seems bursting; Up Sergeant Tilly’s hill; THOUGH YOU MAY NOT WIN; YOU’LL YET COME IN; if you stick it still”. Words I sang as part of my school song for years still hold true today,” Abdullah wrote on X.

Abdullah was defeated by jailed former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid by a margin of 2,04,142 votes. Andullah also said “Rashid's victory, without doubt, will empower secessionists and give Kashmir's defeated Islamist movement a renewed sense of hope”.

“In all the noise & the deep personal disappointment yesterday (and a bit of quiet satisfaction looking at the national results & @JKNC_victories elsewhere) I overlooked thanking the voters of North Kashmir, especially the ones who voted for me, for coming out & using your vote to make your voices heard. Thank you for making the effort to come to the polling booths & keeping the flame of democracy alive,” Abdullah wrote on X after the results were declared.

The Baramulla contest witnessed multiple contenders, including Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, contesting as an Independent candidate despite being incarcerated since 2019 in connection with a money laundering case linked to terror funding. His 23-year-old son, Abrar Rashid, spearheaded his campaign, drawing significant support. Other notable candidates from the seat included Fayaz Ahmad Mir from the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) and Sajjad Lone, president of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference.