Bye-polls for Budgam, Nagrota to be announced later, says CEC

Srinagar : The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced that it would hold bye-elections in Jammu & Kashmir later due to snowy conditions. The ECI stated that they still have time to conduct the elections.

Addressing a news conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that they are not announcing the schedule for bye-polls in Budgam and Nagrota today due to the snowy conditions in the region. The CEC mentioned that they have until April 20 to hold the electoral exercise.

Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat on October 21, while the Nagrota seat became vacant on October 31 following the demise of Devinder Singh Rana. According to section 151A of the Representation of Peoples Act-1951, a bye-election for filling any vacancy must be held within six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy.

While the BJP is likely to field Devinder Singh Rana’s daughter, Devyani Rana, as its candidate for the Nagrota seat, there is widespread curiosity about who the NC’s candidate for the Budgam seat will be. The NC has not provided any hints about its candidate, evoking interest among political observers and voters alike.

In the 2024 J&K polls, Omar Abdullah won the Budgam seat by defeating Muntazir Mehdi, son of separatist leader Agha Hassan, by a margin of more than 18,000 votes. Devinder Singh Rana won the Nagrota seat by defeating Joginder Singh of the National Conference by 30,472 votes—(KNO)