Says “Voting on Nov 11, counting on Nov 14”
New Delhi: The crucial by-election for the Budgam and Nagrota seats will take place on November 11, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Monday.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that the by-election for the two seats in Jammu & Kashmir will be held on November 11, while counting will take place on November 14.
As per the schedule announced by the poll body, notifications for these two seats will be issued on October 13, and nomination forms can be filed until October 20.
Scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on October 22, the ECI stated, adding that candidates may withdraw their nominations until October 24.
The voting and counting will take place on November 11 and November 14 respectively, the poll-body said.
While Nagrota is likely to witness a direct contest between the BJP and the ruling alliance, the Budgam seat is gearing up for a triangular fight between the National Conference (NC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the People’s Alliance for Change (PAC).
The BJP is expected to field Devyani Rana, daughter of the late BJP leader Devender Singh Rana, who had won the Nagrota seat twice.
In Budgam, the National Conference is expected to field either Nasir Aslam Wani or Aga Mehmood.
The Budgam seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated it and retained the Ganderbal seat, having won both constituencies in last year’s Assembly elections.
The Nagrota seat became vacant following the death of BJP leader Devender Singh Rana on October 31 last year, just a few weeks after the Assembly election results were declared in Jammu & Kashmir
