Budgam Assembly Election 2024: Budgam is one of the Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir which is a general seat. The Jammu Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (JKPDP) are the main parties in the constituency.
In the 2014 Assembly Elections, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi from NC won the seat with a margin of 2,787 votes. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi was polled 30,090 votes with a vote share of 43.76 per cent and defeated Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Bhat (muntazir) from JKPDP who secured 27,303 votes (39.71 per cent).
In the 2008 Assembly Elections, Aga Syed Ruhullah from NC won the seat and was polled 19,652 votes with a vote share of 40.15%. JKPDP Assembly Elections 2024 Results -JKPDP candidate Mohammad Kamal Malik got 9,692 votes (19.80 %) and was the runner-up. Aga Syed Ruhullah defeated Mohammad Kamal Malik by a margin of 9,960 votes.
8 candidates to contest in Budgam
Central Kashmir’s Budgam is set for a high-voltage political contest between arch-rivals NC and the PDP. With eight candidates in fray for the Budgam seat, observers maintain that the main contest is going to be between the National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah and Aga Syed Muntazir the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate and son of Hurriyat leader Aga Syed Hassan.
Both Omar and Muntazir are locked in a fierce battle for dominance in this politically crucial constituency. Interestingly, Omar enjoys support of Muntazir’s cousin Aga Ruhullah who is sitting MP of National Conference.
2nd phase polling in Jammu-Kashmir
A total of 239 candidates are in the fray from the 26 constituencies going to polls in the second phase of the three-phase Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. September 16 was the last day of the withdrawal of nomination papers for the second phase covering assembly segments spread across central Kashmir districts of Budgam, Srinagar and Ganderbal, and Poonch and Rajouri districts in the Jammu region.
In Budgam district, eight candidates remain in the final electoral fray for election.
National Conference represented Budgam seat since 1977
The National Conference has represented the Budgam Assembly segment since 1977 and has never witnessed any NC candidate’s defeat so far. However, this time the political dynamics have completely changed with Aga Hassan’s son throwing his hat into the ring on PDP ticket, challenging the NC’s stronghold.
Syed Ghulam Hussain Gilani, a former MLA from Budgam, represented the segment four times in the assembly, In recent years, Aga Ruhullah, a three-time legislator from Budgam (2002, 2008, and 2014), has played a significant role in cementing the NC’s influence in the region.
Omar is eyeing support from NC leaders like Ruhullah and Aga Mehmood, also from the same clan and his party’s traditional voter base in Sunni-dominated localities.
The candidacy of Muntazir’s uncle, Aga Syed Ahmad who is running for office on the Awami National Conference (ANC) is likely to add a new layer of complexity in the election. The ANC is expected to pull a few thousand votes, which could potentially disrupt the PDP’s and NC’s chances of securing a clear victory. This family split across different parties has made the Budgam election more unpredictable than ever.
Vote bank in Budgam
The Shia voters will play a major role and on the other hand the Sunni vote bank which consists of the majority of voters in Budgam constituency will likely decide the new assembly member from Budgam. While Omar Abdullah is striving to ensure his entry into the new legislative assembly from at least one of the two constituencies, Aga Muntazir seeks to dent the NC stranglehold over the Aga clan.
When will Budgam vote?
The 2024 Assembly elections in Budgam are scheduled for September 25 (Wednesday). Jammu-Kashmir will go to the polls in three phases, on September 18, September 25 and October 1.
The results will be announced on October 8 (Tuesday).
