National Conference Faces Historic Defeat in Budgam as Estranged MP Celebrates Omar Abdullah's Political Setback

National Conference's estranged MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Omar Abdullah.

Jammu:

The National Conference party in Jammu and Kashmir experienced a significant defeat in the Budgam bye-elections on Friday, with the party's estranged MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi celebrating this outcome as a personal victory against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, emerged victorious with a margin of 4,478 votes, underscoring Ruhullah's growing political influence in the region.

Following the National Conference's defeat, Ruhullah posted a verse from the Quran on social media platform X, stating that "Arrogance is the recipe for disaster," implicitly suggesting that Omar Abdullah's arrogance contributed to the party's electoral setback. This comment reflects the ongoing tensions between the Lok Sabha MP and the chief minister.

Over the past year, Ruhullah has increasingly distanced himself from the party leadership due to disagreements on multiple issues, including Jammu and Kashmir's current reservation policy. As a result, he abstained from campaigning for the party's candidate in the by-election.

The MP has been openly critical of the party leadership regarding J&K's statehood restoration, accusing them of maintaining silence and weakening their position on the reinstatement of Article 370.

Recently, Ruhullah publicly called on the Chief Minister to "resign and apologise to people for his failure to deliver on the promises the party has made in its manifesto."

Despite his criticisms, the estranged MP has maintained that his opposition to Omar Abdullah is not anti-party, asserting that he is merely adhering to the NC's ideology and the commitments outlined in the election manifesto.

In response to the electoral results, Omar Abdullah characterized Ruhullah's absence from the bypoll campaign as "political suicide."

The necessity for this bypoll arose when the Chief Minister vacated the seat after winning from both Budgam and his family's traditional stronghold of Ganderbal in last year's assembly elections.

The National Conference also failed to secure victory in the Nagrota bypoll, where BJP candidate Devyani Rana maintained her party's hold on the assembly constituency with a substantial lead of 24,647 votes, continuing the legacy of her late father and senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana.

This defeat marks a historic moment as it represents the first time since 1957 that the NC has lost in its central Kashmir stronghold of Budgam, dating back to the inaugural elections for the legislative assembly.

Historically, the NC has emerged victorious in every assembly election in Budgam whenever it has fielded a candidate in this Shia-dominated segment. The only exception was in 1972, when the party boycotted elections across Jammu and Kashmir.