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Srinagar/Jammu, Nov 14 (IANS) The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) wrested Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam assembly seat from the ruling National Conference (NC), while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained the Nagrota assembly seat in the results declared on Friday.
PDP’s Agha Syed Muntazir Mehdi defeated his nearest rival NC’s Agha Syed Mahmood by a margin of over 4,100 votes in a close contest in Budgam.
This seat became vacant after the resignation of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. He had won from both Budgam and Ganderbal in the 2024 assembly elections and later decided to retain Ganderbal.
NC lost several votes in the Budgam by-election due to NC MP Agha Syed Ruhullah Mehdi staying away from the party campaign.
Ruhullah Mehdi, who hails from Budgam, had refused to campaign for the NC due to differences with the party leadership.
Ironically, the PDP workers who celebrated immediately after their candidate was declared the winner also raised slogans in favor of Ruhullah Mehdi.
In Nagrota, BJP’s Devyani Rana on Friday won the by-election by defeating her nearest rival Harsh Dev Singh of the Panthers Party by a margin of over 21,000 votes.
NC candidate Shamim Begum stood third with just over 10,000 votes polled in her favour.
As soon as the victory of the party candidate in Nagrota was announced, celebrations started in the BJP camp in Jammu.
Devyani Rana is the daughter of late Devendra Singh Rana, who won the Nagrota assembly seat in the 2024 assembly elections and whose death in October last year necessitated the bypoll.
In the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, BJP has 29 seats against NC’s 41 seats, while PDP improved its tally to 4.
–IANS
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