Omar Abdullah Clinches Victory In Budgam Seat

National Conference (NC) Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah secured victory from Budgam seat. He defeated PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi by a whopping margin of 18,485 votes. He has also won from his home turf, Ganderbal.

Abdullah’s dual constituency move has received criticism from opponents, citing it as his lack of confidence. Explaining his contest from Budgam, Omar said, “The contest from Budgam shows NC is not weak. It is proof of our power.”

Omar, son of Farooq Abdullah and grandson of the late Sheikh Abdullah, became the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir when the government was formed in coalition with Congress in January 2009. He has also served as the Minister of State for External Affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2001.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Omar contested from Baramulla constituency but was defeated by independent candidate Abdul Rashid Sheikh by a whopping margin of 2,04,142 votes.

Muntazir is the son of prominent Shia leader and former Hurriyat leader Agha Syed Hassan. Agha Hassan, father of Muntazir’s influence among the Shia pockets of Budgam and his commendable local support makes a great challenge to NC’s dominion in the constituency and making Abdullah’s contest difficult.

The Budgam assembly segment is considered to be a NC bastion, as the party won the seat seven consecutive times since 1977. In the 2014 Assembly polls, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi won the election by defeating PDP rival Gh Mohi-ud-din Bhat by a margin of 2787 votes. Mehdi secured the seat in 2008 as well. NC’s Syed Ghulam Hussain Gilani represented the assembly four consecutive times – 1977, 1983, 1987 and 1996.