Omar Abdullah wins Budgam; Congress-NC alliance crosses halfway mark in Jammu and Kashmir

Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Vice President of the National Conference (NC), has won the Budgam seat, according to current trends. The Former J&K Chief Minister has garnered a total of 36,010 votes from the seat.

Meanwhile, in Ganderbal, Omar Abdullah has been leading by over 9000 votes, against the People's Democratic Party rival Bashir Ahmad Mir. Abdullah is also ahead of Apni Party's Qazi Mubisheer Farooq, who is trailing at 29,597 votes, as of Election Commission's trend at 2:15 pm.

The NC chief contested the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections from both Budgam, and Ganderbal, stating it was testament to the strength of his party. The JKNC has won 8 seats so far, while the BJP won 11 seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress has managed to win 2 seats, so far, as per data by the Election Commission.

Counting commenced at 8 am Tuesday with the former Chief Minister enjoying a the vote counting from his private residence at Srinagar. One hour into counting, the Congress-NC alliance and BJP were locked in a neck-and-neck fight. The final results are estimated to be out by midday today.

Exit polls of the J&K assembly election had indicated an advantage for the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance, suggesting that the NC could emerge as the single-largest party in Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the indicators favouring Abdullah, the politician dismissed the exit polls as “just time pass” ahead of the election results on Tuesday.

The NC party vice president's scepticism stems from previous exit poll inaccuracies.

Will the Ganderbal legacy continue?

The former chief minister is engaged in a high-stakes contest to reclaim the Ganderbal assembly seat, which is considered a stronghold of the National Conference. Previously, Ganderbal has elected three generations of the Abdullah family.

Ganderbal's legacy began when NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah won the seat in 1977, followed by his son Farooq Abdullah, who garnered victories in 1983, 1987, and 1996. Omar Abdullah was later elected from the constituency in 2008.

Entering the electoral battle in Ganderbal marked Omar's return to the constituency he represented from 2009 to 2014 as chief minister in the NC-Congress coalition government.

Omar Abdullah's loss to Engineer Rashid

The NC leader lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Baramulla constituency, where Awami Ittehad Party's Sheikh Abdul Rashid, known as Engineer Rashid, defeated Omar Abdullah.