Reported by : Aashif Suhaf
In a major political shift, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the Budgam Assembly seat for the first time, ending the National Conference’s decades-long dominance in this central Kashmir constituency. PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi secured the seat with a winning margin of 4,496 votes, marking a breakthrough for the party, which had never previously made an electoral impact in Budgam.
The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the seat, choosing to keep Ganderbal, which he also won in the 2024 elections. Although Budgam has long been considered a stronghold of the National Conference—especially because of the influential Aga family—the party ran a noticeably low-energy campaign this time.
Political analysts believe one key reason for NC’s poor performance was the absence of senior leader and MP Aga Syed Ruhulla Mehdi from the campaign. His non-participation likely led to a split in NC’s traditional support base and helped the PDP clinch the seat.
For the PDP, this win is a significant boost. The party, which earlier held three seats in the J&K Assembly, now increases its tally to four, strengthening its presence in the House.
Budgam had never been an easy seat for the PDP. In the 2024 Assembly polls, Omar Abdullah defeated Muntazir Mehdi by more than 18,000 votes. Before that, in 2014, 2008, and 2002, NC’s Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi won consecutively. Even in 1996, the seat went to NC’s Syed Ghulam Hussain Geelani.
