By-polls for Budgam, Nagrota to be announced later: CEC

Srinagar, Jan 7: The Election Commission of India on Tuesday announced that by-polls for the Budgam and Nagrota constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir will be held later due to snowy conditions.
Addressing a news conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the schedule for the bye-polls in Budgam and Nagrota will not be announced today due to the adverse weather conditions in the region. “There are two constituencies in J&K which are also due for elections: Budgam and Nagrota. Because of snow conditions, we will do it later. We still have time till April; before that, we will complete the election,” he said.
Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat on October 21, while the Nagrota seat became vacant on October 31 following the demise of Devender Singh Rana. According to section 151A of the Representation of Peoples Act-1951, a by-election for filling any vacancy must be held within six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy.
So election of these seats has to be completed before April 20.
While the BJP is likely to field Devender 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. Devender Singh Rana won the Nagrota seat by defeating Joginder Singh of the National Conference by 30,472 votes. (KNO)