National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah is leading from Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam assembly seat, as per early trends. He is contesting against PDP's Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, IND's Mehraj Ud Din Ganayee and SP's Gazanfar Maqbool Shah.
The former CM of Jammu and Kashmir is also contesting from Ganderbal seat. Both constituencies cast their votes during the second phase of the three-part elections on September 25.
Ganderbal has long been a National Conference stronghold, electing three generations of the Abdullah family. NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah won the seat in 1977, followed by his son Farooq Abdullah in 1983, 1987, and 1996. Omar Abdullah was elected from the constituency in 2008. He began his political career in 1998, representing the Srinagar constituency in Lok Sabha and winning re-election in 1999 and 2004.
Omar left the Lok Sabha in 2018 and was elected from Ganderbal, and became the chief minister in 2009, serving until 2014. In the 2014 assembly elections in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah won from the Beerwah Assembly seat, located near Budgam.
When filing nominations for two assembly seats, Omar Abdullah had mentioned that running from both constituencies was a way to demonstrate the strength of the National Conference.