Srinagar- Jammu and Kashmir National Conference senior leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has bagged the coveted Srinagar parliamentary constituency.
Mehdi amassed a total vote count of 356866 to feature on the top. The senior politician is followed by Waheed-ur-Rehman who has a total of 168450 votes, Mohammad Ashraf with 65954 and Aamir Ahmad Bhat with 15104.
Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who has become the first-time MP from the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, is a native of central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
Ruhulla succeeded his father Aga Syed Mehdi, a prominent Shia leader of Budgam who was assassinated on 3 November 2000, in a powerful IED blast on the way to Magam along with his three security personnel and two supporters at Kanihama-Magam road, Central Budgam.
An alumnus of the Tyndale Biscoe School, Ruhullah went to Aligarh for further studies but had to leave Aligarh only after 4 months due to his Father’s assassination. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Kashmir University.
Ruhullah’s political career started in the year 2002, when he contested his first assembly election from Budgam and won. He continued his winning streak in 2008 & 2014. In 2009, he was inducted in the State Cabinet and became the youngest ever cabinet Minister in India.
He has visited many foreign countries including the USA. In the Year 2006, he was Chosen by the US embassy for International Visitors Leadership Program in USA as youngest Indian Legislator. In 2010, he was awarded by Network 18, CNN-IBN as the Youngest Indian Leader.
In 2015, Ruhullah Mehdi was nominated as the Chief Spokesperson of the National Conference. He held the position for a few years.
However, post August 5, 2019, he distanced himself from the party’s stand of maintaining silence over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir after August 5.
Aga Ruhullah, shot into prominence after 2019 for his outspoken and fiery speeches, against the abrogation of Article 370. He vociferously opposed the Centre’s moves of August 5, 2019, to split erstwhile J&K into two Union Territories and end its seven-decade-long special status
In July 2020, he resigned from the post of chief spokesman of NC. Ruhullah Mehdi took to social networking site “X” formerly twitter Mehdi wrote, “I have sent across my resignation from the post of Chief Spokesperson of JKNC. From here on none of my statements should be considered as such.”
During the campaigning of the 2024 parliamentary elections, he found himself caught in a dispute over discrepancies in his official documents. Pertinently in 2002, his relation Aga Syed Mehmood who was then in PDP and has since rejoined NC, accused Ruhullah of altering his birth year. Despite the case being dismissed at the time due to lack of conclusive evidence, recent RTI findings had reignited debate over the matter.
Earlier this year, Ruhullah got married to an Iranian national at a ceremony held in Tehran. It was Ruhullah’s second marriage. He divorced his first wife, who was his cousin, a few years back.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
