[5][6][7][8] He is seen as a simple man, dressed in Khan suit, taking public transportation and occasionally hitching rides on motor cycles.

Despite facing imprisonment on terror-funding charges, he secured a significant victory over former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, underscoring his substantial grassroots support and political influence in the region.

[11][12][13] In the year 2005, Rashid was arrested by the SOG in Srinagar for supporting militants and subsequently jailed for three months and 17 days.

On 11 September 2024, he was granted interim bail until 2 October, allowing him to campaign for the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election.

[20] On 8 October 2015 Engineer Rashid was assaulted by BJP MLA's inside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly for hosting a party where he served beef on the lawns of the government circuit with a view to oppose the controversial central Government order banning the consumption of beef in India.

[21] He was also attacked with black ink in Press Club New Delhi by BJP cadets a day after his critical comments regarding the lynching of a Kashmiri truck driver in Udhampur.