After the defeat of the ruling National Conference in the Budgam Assembly by-elections, the displeased Congress launched a veiled attack on its coalition partner for not fulfilling the promises made to the people.
Not only did the ruling National Conference lose the Budgam Assembly seat for the first time in the political history of Jammu and Kashmir, but the party also performed below expectations in the Nagrota segment, which the BJP retained by a margin of over 24,000 votes.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief Tariq Hameed Karra said that the outcome of the Budgam Assembly by-election reflected public anger over "broken promises" and "government misconduct."
The J&K Congress president observed that the result of the Budgam by-election was a signal of shifting public sentiment. "The change that has come in the people of Budgam is a matter that needs to be looked into," he said, adding that voters appeared to be responding to the circumstances in which the seat fell vacant.
The Budgam seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had won two seats, retained the Ganderbal seat in the 2024 Assembly elections.
Karra said voters remembered Abdullah's promise that he would retain the seat where he had secured a larger lead. "Their lead was more from Budgam, so people expressed their anger," he said.
Karra also said that people were reacting to what he described as misconduct by the administration. "People are angry about that, too," he added.
First time NC loses Budgam Assembly seat
As reported earlier, on Friday, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) created history by snatching the Budgam Assembly seat from the ruling National Conference in a keenly watched by-election.
For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir's political history, the National Conference has lost an election from the Budgam Assembly seat, where Shia voters have a significant presence. Since 1962, the NC had lost the Budgam seat only once— in 1972 — when the party did not contest the polls.
In the high-stakes by-election, PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi defeated NC nominee Aga Syed Mahmood Al-Masovi by a margin of 4,478 votes.
The PDP candidate secured 21,576 votes, while the NC candidate received 17,098 votes. BJP candidate Aga Syed Mohsin Mosvi managed only 2,619 votes, trailing behind two Independent candidates — Nazir Ahmed Khan (3,089 votes) and Muntazir Mohi-ud-Din (3,030 votes).
Congress maintained distance from by-election campaigning
Despite being a coalition partner of the ruling National Conference, the displeased Congress maintained a distance from the campaigning for the Budgam and Nagrota by-elections. The National Conference had fielded candidates in both seats, but none of the Congress leaders sought votes for their coalition partner.
The National Conference had offered the Nagrota Assembly seat to the Congress, but the party rejected the offer as a mark of protest against being denied a safe seat during the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections.
While the National Conference lost the Budgam Assembly seat to PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, its candidate Shamim Begum secured the third position in the Nagrota constituency.
