The Bypolls to Budgam and Nagrota Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir would be held on Tuesday. Over two lakh voters will decide the fate of 27 candidates on the two seats.
The bypolls was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated Budgam seat and retained Ganderbal seat. Omar had won Budgam with 35,804 votes, defeating the PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, who secured 17,445 votes.
The Nagrota seat fell vacant after the sitting BJP MLA Devnder Rana died in October last year.
A total of 17 candidates including NC’s Aga Mahmood, PDP’s Aga Muntazir, BJP’s Aga Mohsin, Awami Ittehad Party’s Nazir Ahmad Khan, Aam Aadmi Party’s Deeba Khan, and independent candidate Muntazir Mohiuddin are in the fray from Budgam seat.
During the campaign, the NC and PDP traded sharp barbs, blaming each other for the region’s political and administrative “disempowerment.” While the NC accused the PDP of being responsible for the downfall of J&K from a state to a union Territory and the abrogation of Article 370, the PDP in turn alleged that the NC had “surrendered” to the BJP after securing a massive mandate last year.
Adding intrigue to the contest is the absence of NC Member of Parliament Aga Ruhullah, who chose not to campaign for his party’s candidate despite being a prominent leader from Budgam.
According to political observers, the bypolls for Budgam seat is a litmus test for Omar government.
“If NC wins this seat, CM Omar Abdullah will be vindicated — he can claim to have retained public trust. But if the party loses, it will raise more questions about his leadership and performance,” they said.
According to official data, 1,26,025 voters are eligible to cast their votes.
The Election Commission has set up 173 polling stations, all designated as critical.
In last year’s Assembly elections, Budgam recorded a voter turnout of 52.27 percent.
Meanwhile, 10 candidates are in fray for Nagrota Assembly Constituency by-election, which goes to the polls today.
Campaigning concluded on Sunday evening, with candidates making their final appeals to the 97,893 registered voters across 150 polling stations.
The key contest is expected to be triangular between BJP’s Deviyani Rana, daughter of late MLA Devender Singh Rana, National Conference’s Shamim Begum, and J&K National Panthers Party president and former minister Harsh Dev Singh.
Prominent leaders including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and union Minister Jitendra Singh, campaigned for their respective party candidates during the run-up to polling day.
The bypolls to Nagrota seat is a litmus test for BJP.