In a major electoral setback for the ruling National Conference and Omar Abdullah government, the opposition PDP today snatched the Budgam seat from the ruling party. This is the first time that NC has lost an election from the Budgam seat.
PDP’s Aga Muntazir, riding on the anti-incumbency against the Omar Abdullah government, won the Budgam Assembly bypolls defeating NC’s Aga Mahmood.
The BJP retained the Nagrota seat in the bypolls. BJP Devyani Rana won the bypolls from the seat by 24,647 votes.
The by-polls were necessitated after Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat following his simultaneous victory from Ganderbal. The Nagrota seat fell vacant after the death of BJP MLA Devender Singh Rana, just a fortnight after being sworn in.
Devyani, who is the daughter of late BJP leader Devender Singh Rana, polled 42,350 votes while former minister and J&K National Panthers Party candidate Harsh Dev Singh got 17,703 votes and NC’s Shamim Begum secured 10,872 votes.
17 candidates were in fray from the Budgam seat, which fell vacant after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the seat and retained the Ganderbal seat.
Omar had contested from two Assembly seats in the 2024 polls and won from both the seats.
After his win, PDP candidate Aga Muntazir said people have voted for change and accountability.
“Budgam has remained unrepresented till date and now it will be represented in every forum,” he said.
The defeat is an unprecedented setback for the NC and underscores strong anti-incumbency against the Omar government and reflects public disappointment with the NC’s performance and its failure to fulfill its poll promises.