Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Srinagar/Jammu, Nov 11 (IANS) Voting began peacefully in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam and Nagrota assembly constituencies on Tuesday as voters turned out in large numbers to exercise their democratic right. Budgam constituency has 1.76 lakh voters and 173 polling stations have been created for the voters in the constituency. When voters came out in the morning, they were seen wearing ‘ferns’, the traditional tweed overgarment, while women did not come out in large numbers as they preferred to complete household work before going to the polling stations. Despite the morning cold, voters came out and queues started forming outside the polling stations. Voting began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm. There are 17 candidates in the fray in Budgam, of which Agha Syed Mehmood of National Conference (NC) and Agha Syed Muntazir Mehdi of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are the main contenders. Others in the fray here include Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Agha Syed Mohsin, Awami Ittehad Party’s Nazir Ahmed Khan, Aam Aadmi Party’s Deeba Khan and independent Mohiuddin Muntajir. The by-election in Budgam had become necessary as NC Vice President and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had resigned from the constituency after winning from here in the October 2024 assembly elections. Voters turned out in large numbers in Nagrota, where 10 candidates are in the fray as the main contest is between BJP’s Devyani Rana, NC’s Shamim Begum and J&K National Panthers Party’s Harsh Dev Singh. Nagrota by-election had become necessary after the death of BJP MLA Devendra Singh Rana on October 31, 2024. BJP has fielded Devendra Singh Rana’s daughter Devyani from Nagrota and apart from the constituency being a BJP stronghold, a wave of sympathy for the late Rana’s daughter was also seen during the election campaign. 150 polling stations have been set up for 97,893 eligible voters in Nagrota constituency. Paramilitary forces and police personnel have been deployed at sensitive locations in both Budgam and Nagrota assembly constituencies. Election officials said all necessary arrangements have been made for smooth polling as polling staff, static and mobile monitoring teams and magistrates have been deployed at booths in Budgam and Nagrota constituencies. –IANS class/dpb