J-K News: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has vacated the Budgam assembly seat after being elected from two constituencies in the recent elections. The 54-year-old leader opted to retain the Ganderbal constituency, a stronghold of the Abdullah family, PTI reported. The announcement was made in the assembly by pro-tem speaker Mubarak Gul.Abdullahs dual victoryOmar Abdullah, vice president of the National Conference (NC), secured a decisive win in both Budgam and Ganderbal. He won the Budgam seat by defeating Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi by a margin of 18,485 votes. In Ganderbal, a historic constituency for the Abdullah family, he triumphed over PDPs Bashir Ahmed Mir by 10,574 votes.Retaining the family legacyGanderbal has long been represented by the Abdullah family. Omar Abdullah was the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Ganderbal from 2009 to 2014 during his first tenure as chief minister. His father, Farooq Abdullah, and grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, who founded the NC, also represented this constituency in the past.Impact on national conferences strengthWith Abdullah vacating the Budgam seat, the National Conferences strength in the 95-member house has been reduced to 41 seats. However, the party still holds a majority with the support of six Congress MLAs, five Independents, one AAP MLA, and one CPI(M) representative.Abdullah takes oath in KashmiriIn a notable event earlier in the day, Omar Abdullah took the oath of office as an MLA in the Kashmiri language, a symbolic gesture as the leader faced past criticism for his lack of fluency in his native language. Pro-tem speaker Mubarak Gul administered the oath to all newly elected members.
