In his affidavit filed before the District Electoral Officer Baramulla, former Chief Minister and vice president of the National Conference Omar Abdullah admitted separation from her estranged wife Payal Abdullah.
Omar Abdullah, who is the National Conference candidate in north Kashmir's Baramulla Parliamentary segment, however, informed that his divorce case is pending before the Apex Court of the country.
In serial number 2 of the affidavit filed by the National Conference candidate for the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, Omar Abdullah clearly mentioned in the "Spouse" column -"Separated, Case for divorce pending before the Supreme Court of India".
Omar Abdullah has not shared any information in the "Spouse" column in his affidavit. In the 18-page affidavit shared by the Election Commission of India on its website, Omar Abdullah mentioned N/A in all columns related to the "Spouse" and Dependents.
Delhi High Court rejected Omar's divorce plea in Dec 2023
Notably, the Delhi High Court in December 2023 dismissed Omar Abdullah's plea seeking divorce from Payal Abdullah.
As per reports, a panel of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan has upheld the trial court's decision denying divorce to Abdullah.
The high court, dismissing the appeal by Omar Abdullah against the trial court's 2016 ruling, stated that there was no merit in the case. Abdullah had sought a divorce from Payal Abdullah citing cruelty towards him.
The court found no flaw in the family court's perspective that the cruelty allegations were vague and unproven.
The judgment emphasized that Abdullah failed to substantiate any acts, whether physical or mental, that could be deemed as cruelty. In 2016, the trial court rejected Abdullah's divorce plea, stating that he couldn't establish his claims of "cruelty" or "desertion," the grounds he cited for the divorce decree.
Omar has no house, no land, and no car
In a detailed declaration submitted as part of his nomination affidavit, Omar Abdullah disclosed that neither he nor his spouse or dependents own any residential house, agricultural land, or immovable assets.
In comparison, Abdullah's previous poll affidavit from 2014, when he contested assembly elections from Srinagar's Sonwar assembly segment, reveals a decrease of more than 16 percent in his movable assets. They have declined from 65.59 lacs in 2014 to 54.45 lacs—a total reduction of 11.45 lacs over the past decade.
Omar Abdullah does not possess any residential property or agricultural land, which has remained unchanged since his tenure as Chief Minister. This stance was reaffirmed in his recent declaration submitted before the returning officer in Baramulla on May 2, this year, where he is contesting as NC's candidate for the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.
His primary source of income is a pension as a former legislator and parliamentarian. Notably, he does not have any loans or liabilities from banks. His income has fluctuated over the years, with earnings of Rs 7,92,093 in 2019-20, Rs 11,73,030 in 2020-21, Rs 13,20,460 in 2021-22, and a significant decrease to Rs 13,20,460 in 2023-24, following a peak of Rs 19,39,620 in 2022-23.
On Thursday Omar files nomination papers
Omar Abdullah on Thursday filed his nomination papers from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat at the office of the Returning Officer, Minga Sherpa.
The former Chief Minister is in a direct contest with the People's Conference chairman, Sajjad Lone. Omar Abdullah is contesting the polls for the first time in Baramulla. Congress J&K president Vikar Rasool and other senior leaders were present at Omar's rally.
