Can Omar 'Engineer' Baramulla?

HEADS turned when former Jammu and Kashmir CM chief and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah chose Baramulla over his comfort zone Srinagar. Omar, 53, is pitted against Peoples Conference (PC) chairman Sajad Gani Lone, who has the backing of the BJP.

- FAYAZ WANI 

Baramulla is a SHOWT stronghold of the Na- GLADE tional Conference but Omar or his father Farooq Abdullah has never contested from here. The Abdullahs have always preferred Srinagar, given their party's hold in central Kashmir.

Since 1971, NC has won Baramulla nine times, the Congress twice, and the PDP once. In 2019, NC's Mohammad Akbar Lone won by over 30,000 votes, beating PC's Raja Aijaz Ali, who polled over 1 lakh votes.

The stakes are high this time as the LS poll outcome will set the tone for the Assembly polls later this year. Also, the political scenario has changed considerably since Article 370 was read down in 2019.