Omar Abdullah says "never wanted" to fight on two seats as he attends nomination filing of NC's Budgam candidate

Budgam (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 20 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday accompanied National Conference Budgam Assembly by-election candidate Agha Syed Mehmood to the nomination filing.
Speaking to the reporters outside the venue, J-K CM Omar Abdullah admitted that he never wanted to contest the election on two seats, one of which was the Budgam Assembly constituency, which he vacated later, necessitating a by-election.
Omar Abdullah extended his complete faith in Agha Syed Mehmood for the bypoll, scheduled for November 11.
"We hope Agha Mehmood will get a resounding win from here. Farooq Abdullah discussed with party members and decided that Agha Mehmood will be the National Conference's candidate in this by-election. We had no rush. We have decided on the first day who will fight the election," Omar Abdullah said.
"I have never kept Budgam people in deceit. I was forced, even though I never wanted it. I left the seat but not the development of Budgam," Abdullah said.
Omar Abdullah had won both Ganderbal and Budgam seats comfortably in the 2024 Assembly election against the PDP.
NC's Agha Mehmood will be up against PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi. AAP has also fielded Deeba Khan from the constituency.
On October 6, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that by-elections for eight assembly constituencies across seven states and Union Territories will take place on November 11.
The counting of votes for the by-election is scheduled for November 14. These by-elections are being held to fill vacancies caused by various reasons such as resignations, deaths, or disqualifications.
The by-elections will take place in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam and Nagrota districts, Rajasthan's Anta district, Jharkhand's Ghatshila district, Telangana's Jubilee Hills district, Punjab's Tarn Taran district, Mizoram's Dampa district, and Odisha's Nuapada district.
The Election Commission has confirmed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems will be used at all polling stations to ensure a smooth and transparent election process. Adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been arranged to facilitate the elections. (ANI)