PDP wins Budgam assembly bypoll
BJP retains Nagrota seat as Devyani Rana wins with 24,647 votes
Srinagar/Budgam: Opposition PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir on Friday won the Budgam assembly bypoll in Jammu and Kashmir, defeating ruling National Conference (NC) candidate Aga Syed Mehmood by a margin of nearly 4,500 votes. Meanwhile, the BJP retained the Nagrota seat as Devyani Rana won with a margin of 24,647 votes.
This is the first time that the NC has lost in its bastion of Budgam, in central Kashmir, since 1957, the first elections for the legislative assembly.
According to the data on the ECI website, Muntazir secured 21,576 votes against Mehmood’s 17,098 at the end of the counting of votes.
The BJP candidate Aga Syed Mohsin stood a distant sixth with just 2,619 votes.
Reacting to his win, Muntazir said the bypoll verdict is a protest against the ruling National Conference (NC) for not keeping its promises.
“This verdict is a protest against the NC for not fulfilling its political and developmental promises. This verdict will force the NC to fulfil the promises it made to the people of J-K,” Muntazir told reporters here in the central Kashmir district.
“This (win) is a result of the hard work of 50 years, and now Budgam’s vote will get a true representation. This is an answer to the NC for neglecting the people of Budgam in 2024,” he said and added that the people of Budgam have voted for a change and accountability.
Meanwhile, PDP leader Iltija Mufti described the party’s win as the people’s victory, saying the voters understood that the promises made by the ruling NC turned out to be hollow.
“I want to congratulate the people of Budgam… This is the win of the people of Budgam. They have chosen a party that will work for their betterment,” Mufti told reporters here.
“We had consistently made people understand that they gave many opportunities to the NC, even elected a chief minister, but they (NC) went back on their promises. Muntazir will work for the people and serve them,” Mufti added.
The bypoll in Budgam was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the seat and chose his family bastion of Ganderbal after winning from both constituencies in the assembly elections last year.
Meanwhile, the BJP retained the Nagrota assembly constituency after its 30-year-old candidate Devyani Rana won with a lead of 24,647 votes, carrying forward the legacy of her late father and senior party leader Devender Singh Rana.
Devyani Rana, who has been leading from the beginning, secured 42,350 votes, defeating Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) candidate Harsh Dev Singh, who polled 17,703 votes.
National Conference’s Shamim Begum finished third with 10,872 votes.
As the news of her victory spread, Rana received a rousing reception from BJP workers at the counting centre complex.
Rana, who was garlanded on her arrival at the centre, said she thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and other party leaders for depositing faith in her.
“My victory goes to all the voters who cast their votes in my favour and to the party leadership for the confidence they have shown in me,” she told reporters here.
On the bypoll outcome, she said, “We are deeply grateful for the warm welcome we received, just as every household and family in Nagrota had blessed Rana Sahab in 2024. Today, people have extended their blessings to us with the same love and support. We dedicate this victory to Rana Sahab as a mark of respect. We wish to serve the people just as he did.”
An economics graduate from the University of California, Devyani Rana manages her family’s media and automobile businesses. She said she intends to bring a “fresh, professional approach” to politics while upholding the BJP’s principles of service and integrity.
“I believe in a 360-degree view of development — inclusive, participatory, and empowering. My focus will be on strengthening villages, panchayats, and the entire constituency to ensure growth that benefits every section of the society,” she said.
The counting of votes was conducted at the Government Polytechnic College in Gandhi Nagar.
The Nagrota bypoll held on November 11 witnessed a voter turnout of more than 75 per cent.
Devyani Rana is the daughter of former Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana, whose death necessitated the bypoll. He was elected from the constituency in the 2024 assembly elections but died last year.
Rana was pitted against National Conference (NC) nominee and sitting District Development Council member Shamim Begum and JKNPP president Harsh Dev Singh, a former state education minister and three-time MLA from Ramnagar.
Nagrota has alternated between the BJP and the NC in the last five Assembly elections, since 1996. The Congress has not fielded a candidate and has not formally joined the NC campaign despite being part of the alliance at the state level.
