Srinagar, Oct 19: Ending days of speculation, the National Conference (NC) on Sunday announced Agha Syed Mehmood as its candidate for the Budgam assembly by-election, scheduled to be held on November 11.
The announcement, made late Sunday evening, followed intense deliberations within the party over several potential names.
“On the directions of the party leadership, NC has announced Aga Syed Mehmood as the party’s candidate for the upcoming Budgam Assembly election. The party extends best wishes to him for a successful campaign in the service of the people of Budgam,” the NC said in a post on the microblogging site ‘X’.
Party insiders said Aga Mehmood will file his nomination papers on Monday, the last date for submitting nominations.
Meanwhile, the PDP has announced Agha Syed Muntazir as its candidate.
Muntazir had contested against Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Assembly elections but lost by a margin of over 18,000 votes.
“PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi will file his nomination papers for the Budgam assembly by-election tomorrow at 12 noon,” a PDP spokesman said.
The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) has fielded Nazir Ahmad, while a few independents are also expected to enter the race, making the by-poll a multi-cornered affair.
The Budgam by-election is the first major political test for the NC since returning to power last year.
What was initially seen as a routine contest has turned into a significant measure of the party’s grassroots strength, internal unity, and its ability to defend its traditional bastion.
The by-poll was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat while retaining Ganderbal.
The constituency, held by the NC continuously since 1996, has long been influenced by the Aga Syed family’s political clout.
However, shifting loyalties, local grievances, and rising political competition have added an unpredictable edge to the upcoming poll.
Budgam’s political history reflects the NC’s deep roots, occasionally challenged by the PDP’s brief surges.
In the 2024 election, Omar Abdullah secured victory with a margin of 18,485 votes over PDP’s Aga Muntazir Mehdi, even as voter turnout slipped to just above 52 percent, a signal of both enduring party loyalty and local discontent over unfulfilled promises.
The Budgam constituency, with a voter base of around 1.26 lakh, holds a pivotal place in central Kashmir’s political landscape.
Spread across both urban and rural belts, the constituency reflects a diverse mix of traditional loyalties and shifting aspirations.
District authorities have set up 173 polling stations and launched awareness drives to encourage voter participation, particularly among first-time voters.
Security agencies have described Budgam as “sensitive but manageable,” with area mapping, deployment planning, and confidence-building patrols already underway to ensure smooth and peaceful polling.
With the NC banking on legacy and organisational muscle, and the PDP hoping to capitalise on emerging discontent, the November 11 by-poll is shaping up to be a defining political contest for central Kashmir.
