Omar Abdullah concedes defeat to Engineer Rashid in J&K's Baramulla

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on June 4 conceded defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, even before the official results were declared. He had contested from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla seat and was up against Engineer Rashid of Awami Itihad Party (AIP), who is leading by over one lakh votes.

Abdullah wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), "I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters." Rashid, the 57-year-old independent candidate, who has been lodged in Tihar jail for five years on UAPA charges, was aided by his two sons, who campaigned on his behalf.

The two-time ex-MLA from the Langate seat of N Kashmir, used to be a close aide of Sajad Lone’s deceased father and JKPC founder Abdul Gani Lone, before he entered mainstream politics.

Baramulla went to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on May 20. It was among the three seats in Kashmir from where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not field any candidate. Pollsters had projected it would be a two-way contest between Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) chief, until vote counting progressed through the day, revealing Rashid’s shock lead.