What happened
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, known as Engineer Rashid, has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019 on terror-funding charges filed by the National Investigation Agency. In 2024, voters in Baramulla, J&K, elected him to the Lok Sabha anyway — defeating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah by more than 2 lakh votes. To attend the Budget Session earlier this year, a Delhi court issued him custody parole, meaning he attended Parliament as a prisoner on temporary leave. Now, with his party citing his inability to serve constituents while incarcerated, the Awami Ittehad Party has launched a multi-week grassroots consultation across all 18 assembly segments of Baramulla to determine whether he should resign his seat. A secret ballot among party cadres is also being considered. The party is taking a democratic vote to decide if the democracy should continue.