Budgam set for close finish; Devyani dominates Nagrota battle

Srinagar: The by-elections in Jammu & Kashmir recorded an impressive turnout on Tuesday, with the Budgam Assembly segment registering a moderate 50.01 percent turnout and Nagrota recording a high 74.82 percent turnout.

According to official figures released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the 27-Budgam segment recorded a turnout of 50.01%, while the 77-Nagrota constituency saw 74.82% voter participation.

“As per data received till 7:30 PM, 27-Budgam Assembly Constituency has recorded a turnout of 50.01% and 77-Nagrota Assembly Constituency has recorded 74.82%,” said Joint Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, Anil Salgotra, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

He added that a total of 178 votes were polled at special polling booths set up for migrants in Jammu, Delhi, and Udhampur.

“A total of 157 votes were polled at the Special Polling Stations in Jammu. The lone Special Polling Station in Udhampur recorded 11 votes, while in Delhi, a total of 10 votes were cast by Kashmiri migrants,” he said.

As many as 126025 electors were registered in the Budgam constituency and 97980 electors in the Nagrota segment.

The ECI had set up 173 polling stations in Budgam and 150 in Nagrota.

A total of 27 candidates were in the fray for these two segments, which were previously won by the National Conference and the BJP, respectively.

According to field reports, the outcome of the Budgam Assembly segment is likely to be decided by a narrow margin between National Conference’s Aga Mehmood and PDP’s Muntazir Mehdi.

In Nagrota, BJP’s Devyani has the upper hand in the contest for the seat, which fell vacant following the demise of her father, Devinder Singh Rana, the reports suggest—(KNO)