Jammu-Kashmir Assembly polls: CM Omar Abdullah resigns from Budgam seat, retains family bastion Ganderbal

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister (CM) Omar Abdullah has resigned from the Budgam Assembly seat but will retain the Ganderbal constituency, a stronghold of the National Conference (NC), announced Pro-tem Speaker Mubarak Gul in the House on Monday.

Ajaz Jan, the National Conference Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Poonch, also confirmed this decision, reported news agency ANI.

Abdullah had secured victories in both the Budgam and Ganderbal seats during the recent Jammu-Kashmir Assembly polls, winning Budgam by a margin of 18,485 votes against the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi. In Ganderbal, he defeated PDP's Bashir Ahmed Mir by 10,574 votes, reported ANI.

Abdullah previously served as the MLA for Ganderbal from 2009 to 2014 during his first term as CM. The constituency has also been represented by his father, Farooq, and his grandfather, Sheikh, the founder of the National Conference.

After taking the oath as Jammu and Kashmir CM on October 16, Abdullah demonstrated a people-friendly approach by instructing the police to avoid creating a "green corridor" or causing traffic disruptions during his travels, emphasising the need to minimise inconvenience for 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, the MLA from Nowshera in Jammu, was sworn in as the Deputy CM, alongside other ministers.

Following his oath-taking, Abdullah received a guard of honour at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar and held his inaugural meeting with the secretaries of various departments, ANI reported.

Heading the National Conference-led government in the state, Abdullah has the support of other parties within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance, along with four independents. The National Conference-Congress alliance achieved a majority in the Jammu-Kashmir Assembly polls.

The National Conference won 42 seats while the Congress got six seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) put up an impressive performance, securing 29 seats, while the PDP won only three seats. One seat each was won by the People's Conference, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with the Independents winning seven seats.

The results of the three-phased Jammu-Kashmir Assembly polls were announced on October 8, marking the first elections in the region following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

(With ANI inputs)