The Assembly elections are due shortly, in which Omar Abdullah, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister along with the incumbent vice president of the National Conference (NC) party, disclosed his candidature from the Ganderbal constituency.
NC leaders Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Nasir Aslam Wani made the statement on Sunday in the company of Omar Abdullah and senior NC leader Mian Altaf Ahmad. The former chief minister only recently opted to return to the polls, having earlier stated that he would not stand until J&K became a state.
Omar Abdullah represented the Ganderbal Assembly constituency from 2008 to 2014 and then shifted to the Beerwah constituency in 2014. In 2002, he bid his final adieu to the Assembly from Ganderbal to Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Public opinion is keen, as Assembly elections are viewed as an important phase in regional political processes, where the main contenders will fight for people’s votes. Omar Abdullah’s move to contest from Ganderbal is going to make the electoral battle a little more exciting.
The Election Commission of India has already short notice for the first phase of the 3-phased Assembly polls in J&K, with the first phase slated on 18 September.
