Ganderbal Showdown: Omar Abdullah’s Prestige At Stake, Faces Tough Fight Against Resurging Political Parties

As union territory Jammu & Kashmir readies itself for second phase of Assembly election, Ganderbal has now become a matter of prestige for scion of Abdullah family- Omar Abdullah.

Why Is It Considered A Matter Of Prestige?

Falling under the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, for decades, Ganderbal Assembly constituency was considered a bastion of Abdullah family for three decades, as NC patriarch Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah first contested in 1977, which was followed by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, who contested from this seat in 1983, 1987, and 1996 respectively.

Consistently, national conference held the Ganderbal seat in six out of seven elections, with five of those victories going to candidates from the Abdullah family.

Subsequently, Omar Abdullah carried on the legacy by fighting election from this in 2002 and 2008 respectively.

However, 2000s wasn’t an easy year for Abdullah scion, as Omar lost to Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by approximately 3,000 votes in 2002. Thus, proving that Ganderbal is no longer Abdullah’s playground.

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But, despite winning the seat in 2008 and becoming youngest CM Of Jammu & Kashmir, Omar Abdullah took no chance and decided to exit the constituency  by nominating Ishfaq Jabbar, a newcomer to the National Conference (NC). Although, Jabbar emerged victorious in the elections, he was expelled from the NC in April 2023 for engaging in anti-party activities.

Tough Challenge Ahead

Meanwhile, now that Omar Abdullah is back in the constituency, the competition has now become tough more than ever, as the entry of PDP candidate Bashir Mir into the race has significantly toughened the contest for Ganderbal.

Mir, who has unsuccessfully contested two assembly elections from the neighboring Kangan seat, was nominated by the PDP due to the reservation of that segment for ST candidates. Hence, his participation has somewhat energized the PDP cadre, though many party workers are dissatisfied with this decision.

Additionally, Mir is also regarded as a hero by the people of Ganderbal district, as he had rescued numerous individuals from the Sindh River and assisted the police in various rescue operations on multiple occasions.

Besides Mir, Jabbar, who was previously expelled from the NC, is now back in the race and will contest for Ganderbal as an independent candidate. Hence, it is expected that he will tailor his campaign around the issue of his suspension.

NC’s Gujjar leader Mian Altaf, who narrowly defeated Mir by just 1,432 votes in the 2014 assembly elections and recently secured victory in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is expected to pose a significant challenge to Omar Abdullah. Abdullah, who lost the Baramulla seat to independent candidate Engineer Rashid in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

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Therefore, it remains to be seen whether Omar Abdullah will succeed in retaining the family bastion in this assembly election or not.

Political Landscape Of Ganderbal

Meanwhile for unversed, the Ganderbal Assembly constituency is one of the 90 constituencies in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. This general seat is not usually reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) or Scheduled Tribes (STs).

In this constituency, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP), and the Congress are key [political parties in this region.