As the upcoming assembly elections in J&K draw near, Central Kashmir’s Budgam segment is set for a high-voltage showdown between arch-rivals Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC).
There are eight candidates in the fray for this hot seat. Political observers assert that the main battle of interest will be between NC Vice President Omar Abdullah and Aga Syed Muntazir, the PDP candidate and son of Hurriyat Leader Aga Syed Hassan.
Interestingly, Syed Muntazir happens to be the cousin of the current MP Lok Sabha from the Srinagar constituency, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi of the NC.
With his backing, Abdullah seems to have an upper hand in the upcoming elections; however, Muntazir, who is also from a highly influential political
background, has a sizeable voter base.
As far as this constituency is concerned, NC has never lost this seat since 1977, a record that PDP and Muntazir need to work hard to break.
With changed political dynamics, Muntazir, who feels he could pull off a surprise win, has challenged the NC’s stronghold.
With his participation this time, the NC’s voter base is likely to shrink considerably.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, NC’s Mehdi secured 30,090 votes, with a lead of 2,787 votes from Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Bhat of the PDP, who secured 27,303 votes.
Abdullah, who had previously announced not to participate in the upcoming elections, is now contesting from two constituencies, Budgam and Ganderbal, simultaneously, wanting to reassert his party’s dominance over the Budgam seat.
The battle, however, does not seem to be easy for him this time.
NC’s strength in this segment comes from the decades-old strong and loyal party workers; some of whom have been associated with the party since 1977.
The party has a massive following in both the Shia and Sunni communities of this constituency, strengthened with the backing of powerful NC leaders like Ruhullah and Aga Mehmood.
Meanwhile, Muntazir, in his recent address, said, “I am someone who has been chosen by the people of Budgam to bring about positive changes in the Budgam district. I don’t want women on the streets, as long as I am there, I will fight for my people on the streets.”
Although this constituency has a decent number of Shia voters, however, the vote bank is likely to get divided between factions loyal to Mehdi and Muntazir
Despite their strong presence, the outcome of this seat has always been decided by the majority of Sunni voters.
While Omar Abdullah seeks to retain the seat one more time, Aga Muntazir seeks to dent the NC stranglehold over the Aga clan.
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