A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail till October 2 to Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, to allow him to campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls.

Engineer, who faces a daunting task to salvage his reputation in the Valley as much as carve a distinct political space for his party, finds himself at the cusp of a challenge even before he sets foot in Kashmir. While Valley-based parties see him as the new BJP “proxy”, his supporters believe he is an iron-jawed icon of Kashmir resistance.

And if jail has turned him into a hero of sorts, his freedom is threatening to unravel that image — going by the attacks he is facing from former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. Engineer’s Awami Ittehaad Party (AIP) has denied the allegation that he is working at the behest of the BJP.

Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh granted Engineer bail on his plea for interim relief to campaign for the three-phase polls beginning September 18.

On July 5, the court had granted Engineer custody parole to take oath as a member of the Lok Sabha. The court has reserved for Wednesday its order on his application for regular bail.

Rashid’s son Abrar, who had campaigned for his jailed father during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year in which he defeated Omar, welcomed the decision. There were celebrations at his home in Langate, Kupwara, after the bail order. “It is not Engineer sahab’s victory alone, but of all the people,” Abrar said.

Things, however, seem not so rosy for Engineer this time as he is battling allegations of being a BJP “proxy” unlike the last time.

PDP chief Mehbooba on Tuesday told a large election rally in Pulwama that parents of poor detainees were not allowed to even meet them in jail, but “some jailed men are allowed to contest and campaign”.

“They (AIP workers) are even free to attack our men. They attacked (PDP candidate) Yawar Banday. Instead of the police taking action against them, the Election Commission has sent notice to our candidate. This proves what is the matter with those contesting from jails,” she said.

There was a scuffle between PDP and AIP activists recently in which Banday was injured.

Omar said voting for the AIP and other alleged proxies was the same as voting for the BJP.

“Home minister Amit Shah recently said that they are ready to form a government with the AIP, PC (Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference) and other parties. If people want to help the BJP, they should vote for these parties,” he said.

Rashid was arrested in August 2019 in a terror funding case and he had failed to get bail in the past despite several attempts.He is lodged in Tihar jail.

As a member of the Assembly, Rashid was accused of harbouring separatist views when he batted for the right to self-determination for Jammu and Kashmir and moved a resolution seeking clemency for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

He won the 2024 parliamentary poll riding high on a sympathy wave — with slogans like “Jail ka badla jail se lenge (We will avenge jail with votes)” — from Baramulla by defeating heavyweights Omar and Lone by big margins.

Engineer’s impending release has been preceded by public claims by Omar and Mehbooba that he is a “proxy” of the dispensation at the Centre.

That is a far cry from July when Omar was roasted for sharing an article that suggested Engineer’s win “will empower secessionists” and give “Kashmir’s defeated Islamist movement a renewed sense of hope”.

Last week, Omar was the first to raise the red flag after jailed separatist Sarjan Barkati filed nomination papers from Ganderbal and Beerwah. Omar is contesting from Ganderbal and is rumoured to be eyeing Beerwah as well. He alleged that Delhi was fielding jailed politicians to ensure his defeat.

Mehbooba had on Monday claimed that all parties and Independents other than her PDP, National Conference and the Congress were government proxies, warning people not to vote for them.

She said they were fielded after the government’s alleged proxies (like Lone’s Peoples Conference and Bukhari’s Apni Party) faced a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

The impending elections have been rocked by a series of other controversies. The government has allowed the separatist Jamat-e-Islami, a banned organisation, to field candidates, while the kin of several other separatists are also in the fray.

An NC leader said if Engineer’s party performed well, it would be a recipe for disaster. “It is an advantage to the BJP. All his men are contesting as Independents and will be prone to poaching if they win,” the leader said, requesting anonymity.

BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur denied the allegation that Engineer was the party’s proxy. He said Omar considered anybody challenging him a BJP agent.