Debutant PDP MLA who won Omar's seat says J&K Assembly still powerful

JAMMU: PDP's Aga Syed Muntazir, who won the Budgam assembly seat vacated by Omar Abdullah in the Nov 2025 bypoll despite an intensive campaign by the CM and his Cabinet, has said his first experience in the J&K Assembly has been positive and that the House remains a powerful institution even though its powers were curtailed after abrogation of Article 370 on Aug 5, 2019, and the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir state into a union territory.

“I am hopeful that the eroded political space in J&K can be reclaimed through this institution and that people’s rights can be restored to some extent. The legitimacy people have given to the Assembly demands that it works in that spirit,” Muntazir told the TOI outside the Assembly on Friday.

“We should not say the J&K Assembly is disempowered. No party or legislator should say this. We should not use discouraging words or claim that nothing can be done through this Assembly. Even in the present setup, the Assembly is a powerful institution,” he said.

“After Aug 5, 2019, people gave legitimacy to this Assembly by participating in the polls in large, unprecedented numbers not seen in the past 36 years. Now you cannot tell the same people that it is a disempowered Assembly. We must strive for political rights of J&K, but at the same time the legitimacy of this Assembly shouldn’t be negated,” he added.

Muntazir, 32, entered the Assembly for the first time after winning the Budgam seat, defeating National Conference candidate Aga Syed Mahmood by 4,478 votes.

The bypoll defeat was a major setback for the CM who had vacated the Budgam seat in 2024 after winning from it.

Muntazir is the son of Aga Syed Hasan, a senior Shia cleric and former leader of separatist conglomerate All Parties Hurriyat Conference. Muntazir earlier worked as a grassroots activist before entering electoral politics.

Muntazir, who holds an LLM degree, said Budgam has suffered nearly two decades of neglect despite its proximity to Srinagar. Since joining the Assembly, he regularly raises concerns about roads, education, drinking water and healthcare in his constituency, where literacy levels remain low. “In the past 20 years, the same party (NC) represented Budgam. People were given only rhetoric, but political rhetoric has a shelf life,” he said. “The people voted for change because their dignity and basic needs were ignored for a long time.”

He said the CM had earlier assured the establishment of a National Law University in Budgam and the promise was made in the House. “It must be honoured. The empowerment of the J&K Assembly lies in delivering what is promised in the House,” he said.
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