In a major political shift, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the Budgam Assembly seat for the first time, ending the National Conference’s decades-long dominance in this central Kashmir constituency. PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi secured the seat with a winning margin of 4,496 votes, marking a breakthrough for the party, which had never previously made an electoral impact in Budgam.

The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the seat, choosing to keep Ganderbal, which he also won in the 2024 elections. Although Budgam has long been considered a stronghold of the National Conference—especially because of the influential Aga family—the party ran a noticeably low-energy campaign this time.

Political analysts believe one key reason for NC’s poor

See Full Page