Bid to save family bastion, Omar’s sons join campaign in Ganderbal

As former CM and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah is facing a tough battle in Ganderbal, his sons Zamir Abdullah and Zahir Abdullah have joined him in the poll campaign.

Omar is contesting from two seats in central Kashmir — Ganderbal and Budgam. In Ganderbal, which is the family bastion of the Abdullahs, Omar faces jailed cleric and pro-separatist Sarjan Barkati. To boost his campaign, Zahir and Zamir travelled to Ganderbal on Sunday and addressed the workers.

Zamir highlighted the Abdullah family’s deep-rooted connection with Ganderbal, dating back to his great-grandfather Sheikh Abdullah, who began his political career from the segment. He further talked about the importance of connecting with every household in the constituency.

Addressing workers, Zahir said the last decade, especially the last five years, has been difficult for J&K. Hinting that all other parties were proxies of the BJP, he urged people to vote for the NC-Congress alliance. “Except for the ones cast for the NC and the Congress, all other votes are going to the Centre. We all have to join hands to win this battle,” he said, adding that the localshad the first right on land, jobs, power and mountains.

While Omar’s sons have not joined active politics yet, they accompany their father in all political events and have been taking potshots at the BJP on social media.

In a post on X, Zahir took a dig at Devender Rana, a former NC leader who is now in the BJP. Rana had said that he would resign “if daily wagers are not regularised within 10 days of the (BJP’s) government formation”.

“What exactly stopped you from doing it in the last 10 years when the entire administration was under your control? This reflects the government’s approach and intention while dealing with J&K,” Zahir wrote on X.

Zamir too seems to be following suit. BJP leader Ram Madhav had posted that the party only needs 10 seats in Kashmir. Commenting on the post, Zamir wrote: “The British utilised the divide and rule policy to rule us. Today, the Centre is putting up proxy candidates to dilute the voice of the people.”

Notably, sons of at least six NC leaders are contesting the Assembly poll on the party ticket.