Budgam, Oct 17 (JKNS): The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has officially announced Manzor Ahmed as its party candidate for the upcoming Budgam Assembly by-election.
Manzor Ahmed is currently serving as the State Secretary in the Kashmir unit of RLD. The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of Omar Abdullah.
In the 2024 Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) had won the Budgam seat, defeating Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP) by a margin of 18,485 votes. Omar Abdullah had secured 36,010 votes (54.52%), while Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi polled 17,525 votes (26.53%). Other candidates included Nisar Ahmad Pal of JKPDF(S) who secured 3,365 votes (5.09%) and independent candidate Mehraj Ud Din Ganayee who got 3,358 votes (5.08%).
Earlier, in the 2014 Assembly elections, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi from JKNC had won the Budgam seat, securing 30,090 votes.
Vinay Pradhan, RLD Incharge for Jammu & Kashmir, said that after the resignation of Omar Abdullah, the people of Budgam are angry with the ruling government and want a change. He described Manzor Ahmed as a “young and new face” committed to the upliftment of people.
Pradhan appealed to the voters of Budgam to support the RLD candidate in the by-election. He further informed that Party President Dr Johar and Vice President & Spokesperson Altaf Dhar will oversee and manage the campaign in Budgam. (JKNS)
