Jammu and Kashmir’s National Conference (NC) leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has vacated the Budgam assembly seat, choosing to retain the Ganderbal constituency, as announced by Pro-tem Speaker Mubarak Gul in the state assembly on Monday. Abdullah had won both the Budgam and Ganderbal seats in the recently concluded 2024 assembly elections.
The Ganderbal constituency holds special significance for the Abdullah family. NC founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah first won the seat in 1977, followed by Farooq Abdullah, the party’s current president, who represented Ganderbal in 1983, 1987, and 1996. Omar Abdullah himself was the MLA for Ganderbal from 2008 to 2014 during his first term as Chief Minister. However, in 2002, he lost the seat to Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by a narrow margin of 2,870 votes.
In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah reclaimed the Ganderbal seat, defeating PDP candidate Bashir Ahmad Mir by a substantial margin of 10,574 votes. Abdullah secured 32,727 votes compared to Mir’s 22,153, marking a strong comeback in this traditional family bastion.
Abdullah also secured victory in Budgam, one of the two constituencies he contested. He defeated Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi of the PDP by an impressive margin of 18,485 votes, according to the Election Commission. Abdullah garnered 36,010 votes, while Mehdi received 17,525. His victory in Budgam was confirmed after 13 rounds of vote counting.
With Abdullah choosing to retain Ganderbal, the National Conference’s presence in the 95-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly (which includes five members nominated by the Governor) stands at 41 seats. Despite this reduction, the NC remains in a strong position, holding a comfortable majority with the support of six Congress MLAs, five Independents, and one member each from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M).
Omar Abdullah’s strategic decision to hold onto Ganderbal reinforces the family’s historical connection to the constituency, while ensuring that the National Conference continues to maintain a dominant role in Jammu and Kashmir’s political landscape.
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