BJP Retains Nagrota, Devyani Rana wins hugely by over 21000 votes
Srinagar: The results of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly bypolls were declared on Friday. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the Budgam seat and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained Nagrota.
In Budgam, PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi defeated his closest rival, Aga Syed Mehmood of the National Conference (NC), securing a lead of over 4,186 votes. The constituency, one of the most competitive in the bypolls, saw 17 candidates contesting, including representatives from the Apni Party and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP).
In Nagrota, BJP candidate Devyani Rana defeated Harsh Dev Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) by a margin of over 21,000 votes. The NC candidate, Shamim Begum, finished third with just over 10,000 votes. Devyani Rana, the daughter of late MLA Devender Singh Rana, entered politics following her father’s death on October 31, 2024. Her victory marks the BJP’s continued presence in the Jammu region. The Budgam bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had won both Ganderbal and Budgam seats in the 2024 Assembly elections and chose to represent Ganderbal. The Nagrota bypoll followed the death of Devender Singh Rana.
