Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah (PTI photo)
Ganderbal:
The ruling National Conference (NC) on Friday announced that its working president and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will contest the upcoming state polls from two seats of Sonwar and Beerwah instead of fighting from the family bastion of Ganderbal.
With this decision, the decades-old relationship of the Abdullah family with the Ganderbal constituency, considered to be its stronghold, is expected to come to an end.
Omar, in a tweet, justified his decision.
Omar's grandfather and the NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah joined mainstream politics and fought elections from the constituency in 1975, when the then-sitting Congress MLA from the constituency Mohammad Maqbool Bhat vacated the seat for him.
Mr Abdullah won the by-elections, became the chief minister of the state and thus started the family's relation with the constituency.
Two years later, at the end of his tenure in 1977, Mr Abdullah again chose Ganderbal to contest the polls and won.
After Mr Abdullah's death, his son and Omar's father Farooq Abdullah fought the polls from Ganderbal in 1983, 1987 and 1996, and won them each time.
When Omar took over the reins of the party and decided to enter state politics, he too chose Ganderbal to mark his debut.
However, he lost the elections to PDP's Qazi Muhammad Afzal in 2002, a defeat avenged by him in 2008 by defeating Qazi from Ganderbal to become the chief minister of the state.
Ganderbal, along with 14 other constituencies, is going to polls in the first phase of the five-phased assembly elections beginning November 25.
With this decision, the decades-old relationship of the Abdullah family with the Ganderbal constituency, considered to be its stronghold, is expected to come to an end.
Omar, in a tweet, justified his decision.
Having decided two years ago that I wouldn't seek reelection from Ganderbal I've continued to work for the constituency & will always do so.
- Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) October 31, 2014Omar's grandfather and the NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah joined mainstream politics and fought elections from the constituency in 1975, when the then-sitting Congress MLA from the constituency Mohammad Maqbool Bhat vacated the seat for him.
Mr Abdullah won the by-elections, became the chief minister of the state and thus started the family's relation with the constituency.
Two years later, at the end of his tenure in 1977, Mr Abdullah again chose Ganderbal to contest the polls and won.
After Mr Abdullah's death, his son and Omar's father Farooq Abdullah fought the polls from Ganderbal in 1983, 1987 and 1996, and won them each time.
When Omar took over the reins of the party and decided to enter state politics, he too chose Ganderbal to mark his debut.
However, he lost the elections to PDP's Qazi Muhammad Afzal in 2002, a defeat avenged by him in 2008 by defeating Qazi from Ganderbal to become the chief minister of the state.
Ganderbal, along with 14 other constituencies, is going to polls in the first phase of the five-phased assembly elections beginning November 25.
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