PDP Wins Badgam Bypoll, Dealing Major Jolt to CM Omar Abdullah's National Conference

This special report focuses on a significant political setback for Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, as his party, the National Conference (NC), lost the Badgam assembly by-election to the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The bypoll was necessitated after Abdullah, who won both the Badgam and Ganderbal seats in the 2024 elections, chose to vacate the Badgam constituency. The loss is attributed to factors including party infighting, highlighted by the absence of NC Member of Parliament Agha Ruhullah from the campaign. While the NC faced a defeat in Badgam, the report notes a victory for the Congress party in the Jubilee Hills bypoll in Telangana. As journalist Mir Fareed states, 'it is a major jolt to Umar Abdullah because normally, in a by-election, you'll expect a party in power to win'.