J&K CM Omar Abdullah Resigns from Budgam, Retains Family Stronghold in Ganderbal

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has resigned from the Budgam assembly seat and chosen to retain the Ganderbal constituency, a traditional stronghold of the National Conference (NC). The announcement was made by Pro-tem Speaker Mubarak Gul in the House on Monday, with confirmation from Poonch NC MLA Ajaz Jan.

Victory in Two Constituencies

Abdullah secured wins in both Budgam and Ganderbal during the recently held assembly elections. He won the Budgam seat by a margin of 18,485 votes, defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi. In Ganderbal, he won against PDP’s Bashir Ahmed Mir by 10,574 votes.

Ganderbal holds deep personal and political significance for Abdullah, having represented the constituency as an MLA during his previous term as chief minister from 2009 to 2014. The seat has also been held by his father, Farooq Abdullah, and his grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, the founder of the National Conference.

People-Friendly Leadership Approach

Since taking his oath as Chief Minister last Wednesday, Omar Abdullah has emphasized a people-first approach. He directed the police to avoid creating “green corridors” or stopping traffic during his road movements to minimize inconvenience to the public.

The National Conference leader was sworn in by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. Surinder Kumar, MLA from Nowshera in Jammu, was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister alongside other ministers.

Following his oath, Abdullah received a guard of honour at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar and held his first official meeting with secretaries of various government departments.

Omar Abdullah is heading a National Conference-led government with support from the INDIA alliance and four independents. The NC-Congress alliance won a majority in the assembly, with the NC securing 42 seats and Congress, its ally in the INDIA bloc, winning 6.

The BJP delivered a strong performance, winning 29 seats, while the PDP secured 3 seats. One seat each was won by the People’s Conference, CPI-M, and AAP, with seven seats claimed by independents.

This election, whose results were declared on October 8, marked the first assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.