Budgam bypoll to test popularity of year-old Omar Abdullah govt

Over a year after the National Conference formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir — with the party emerging as the single largest party with 42 legislators in last year's Assembly election — the party will now face its first litmus test in the byelection scheduled in Budgam next month.

The Budgam seat in central Kashmir's Budgam will go to the polls along with Nagrota seat in Jammu on November 11. The Budgam seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had contested from two constituencies during last year’s election, chose to retain Ganderbal seat and resigned from Budgam.

The election for Budgam seat is all set to test the popularity of the Omar Abdullah government which has faced criticism from Opposition parties for doing little during the past one year. Leaders have accused the NC of misleading voters with false promises to win the Assembly elections.

A senior Opposition leader on Thursday told The Tribune that the National Conference has failed to deliver on its promises. “We know this is a UT setup, but much could have been done…but NC has failed to deliver and people are suffering,” he said.

The National Conference and even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have, however, blamed the dual governance model in J&K as a “recipe for disaster”.

According to NC leaders, with less power with the elected government under the UT, the government is unable to take major policy decisions after coming to power. “We are working in an extremely difficult situation. Despite that, several decisions have been taken under the UT setup. We will continue to serve the people,” said an NC leader.

Now, with elections in the Budgam seat, it would be a litmus test for the National Conference, experts say. “It will not be a cakewalk. Whatever the reasons are, the government hasn’t performed as per expectations. So, whatever the results will be, it will tell the mood of the people on the ground,” said Srinagar-based political commentator Prof Noor Baba, calling the election in Budgam as a “test” for the National Conference government.

Adding to the complexity is that Budgam seat has previously been represented by NC leader and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi. Of late, Mehdi has been very critical of the Omar Abdullah government for ignoring the mandate given to the party.

Given the local support that Mehdi holds in Budgam, it would be a challenging task for the NC to hold this seat without Aga’s support.

“The party has to bring Mehdi on board so that party can retain the seat,” said a local Budgam resident.