Srinagar/Jammu: Around 50 percent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the Budgam assembly constituency while turnout in Nagrota was nearly 75 percent during the bypolls held on Tuesday, officials said.
Polling began at 7 am amidst chilly conditions as the valley witnessed sub-zero night temperatures at most places, and ended at 6 pm. The poll percentage recorded at the end of the polling in Budgam was 50.01 percent, officials said.
The poll percentage in the bypoll was slightly lower than last year’s assembly polls of 52.27 percent.
The Budgam assembly constituency has around 1.26 registered voters.
The polls are being seen as a litmus test for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s government and his party, the National Conference (NC). The bypoll was necessitated after Abdullah vacated the seat following his election from the family bastion of Ganderbal as well in last year’s assembly polls.
Budgam has been a bastion of the NC with its candidates securing victory from the constituency since 1962, barring once in 1972 when the Congress candidate won from the seat.
NC Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, won from the Budgam seat in the 2002, 2008 and 2014 assembly polls, before Abdullah emerged victorious from here in 2024.
There were 17 candidates in the fray as Aga Syed Mehmood of the ruling National Conference faces a stiff challenge from the PDP’s (People’s Democratic Party) Aga Muntazir.
Besides the two Shia candidates, other key candidates include the BJP’s Syed Mohsin, Awami Ittehad Party’s Nazir Ahmad Khan, Aam Aadmi Party’s Deeba Khan, and independent candidate Muntazir Mohiuddin.
Nagrota assembly segment recorded a turn-out of 74.82 percent till 5 pm, according to Election Commission data.
Voting began at 7 am across 154 polling stations on the outskirts of Jammu city with no untoward incident reported so far, officials said. Polling concluded at 6 pm.
Long queues were seen at several polling stations in the constituency.
BJP candidate Devyani Rana, daughter of former MLA Devender Singh Rana, whose death necessitated the bypoll, visited several polling booths and exuded confidence that she will secure a strong mandate
“I am hopeful of my victory. People of the constituency will bless me with a large number of votes, just as they blessed my father,” she told reporters at the Katal Batal polling station. She urged voters to turn out to vote in large numbers.
Former naib sarpanch Girdari Lal said there was “enthusiasm” among voters.
“All arrangements are in place and people are coming out to vote in good numbers,” he said.
The contest is largely between the BJP, National Conference (NC), and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).
BJP’s Devyani Rana is seeking to capitalise on public sympathy and the goodwill of her father, who died in October last year.
Rana is pitted against NC nominee and sitting District Development Council (DDC) member Shamim Begum, and JKNPP president Harsh Dev Singh, a former state education minister and three-time MLA from Ramnagar.
Rana, an economics graduate from the University of California and who is currently managing her family’s businesses, has campaigned on the plank of “professional and inclusive development.”
Begum has banked on grassroots outreach and organisational support from the NC to project continuity in local governance.
Singh, contesting Nagrota for the first time, has highlighted his legislative experience and asserted himself as an alternative to both major parties.
A total of 97,893 voters are eligible to decide the fate of 10 candidates in the bypoll.
Sunita Devi, who polled her vote at Kol Kandoli polling station, says her ballot was for continuance of Nagrota’s development.
Nagrota has alternated between the BJP and NC over the last five assembly elections since 1996.
The Congress did not field a candidate, nor did it formally join the NC campaign despite being part of the alliance in the state.
