SRINAGAR: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, who is contesting Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla parliamentary seat in north Kashmir, is a lakhpati (millionaire) but has no house, land, cars or any other immovable assets of his own.
His only source of income is the pension he receives as an ex-MLA and former Member of Parliament.
In the poll affidavit, Omar, who served as Jammu & Kashmir chief minister from 2009-14, has movable assets worth Rs. 54.45 lakh. He has got Rs. 95,000 in cash, Rs. 19,16,000 in FD in HDFC Bank, Rs. 21,373 deposits in SBI Delhi, Rs. 2,20,930 deposits in HDFC Srinagar and Rs. 1,91,745 deposits in J&K Bank.
Omar, who is fighting a divorce case with his wife, has got jewellery worth Rs. 30 lakh.
Surprisingly, Omar has got zero immovable assets. He neither owns a residential house nor has agriculture or non-agriculture land. He also has got no investments in land and no commercial building and neither owns a car.
As per his poll affidavit, Omar’s source of income is his pension as ex-J&K legislator and ex-MP. A BSC graduate from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics Mumbai, Omar in the poll affidavit, has disclosed that he is separated from his wife with divorce proceedings pending before the Supreme Court.
According to the affidavit, his income was Rs. 7,92,093 in 2019-20, Rs. 11,73,030 in 2020-21, Rs. 10,00,570 in 2021-22, Rs. 19,39,620 in 2022-23 and Rs. 13,20,460 in 2023-24.
Omar is pitted against Sajad Gani Lone of the Peoples Conference and PDP’s Fayaz Mir in a triangular contest from the Baramulla seat.
The main contest for the seat is between Omar Abdullah and Sajjad Lone, who have the backing of the Apni Party.
In first Parliamentary polls in Jammu & Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, Omar has taken a brave decision of stepping out of his comfort zone of Srinagar seat and contesting from Baramulla, which is scheduled to go to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20.
Omar is contesting his first parliamentary polls in the last 15 years. The National Conference vice-president was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1998 when he won the election from Srinagar parliamentary seat. In 1999, he was re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha.
He lost his first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir from Ganderbal constituency in 2002 Assembly polls. However, he won from Sonawar seat in 2008 and became the chief minister of the erstwhile state. In 2014, he contested from two seats and lost from his home turf in Sonawar seat but won from Beerwah seat in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.