Three-cornered contest in Nagrota bypoll tomorrow

Jammu, Nov 10 (PTI) Bypoll to Nagrota assembly constituency is set to be held on Tuesday amid tight security arrangements, with over 97,000 voters to decide the fate of ten candidates.

The segment is witnessing a three-cornered contest among the BJP, National Conference (NC) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).

The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of former MLA Devender Singh Rana on October 31 last year.

His 30-year-old daughter, Devyani Rana, riding on public sympathy and goodwill, is contesting on a BJP ticket.

She faces NC’s 37-year-old nominee Shamim Begum, a postgraduate in Urdu and a sitting District Development Council (DDC) member, and JKNPP president Harsh Dev Singh, a senior advocate and former education minister.

“All necessary arrangements have been put in place for smooth polling. Adequate security measures have also been ensured,” a senior official said.

He added that polling staff, static and mobile surveillance teams, and magistrates have been deployed across booths.

A total of 97,893 voters are eligible to cast their vote at 154 polling stations.

Campaigning concluded on Sunday evening. Leaders from multiple parties camped in the constituency over the past month.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, and several senior NC and BJP leaders addressed rallies in support of their respective candidates. BJP president Sat Sharma also canvassed for Devyani Rana.

Devyani Rana, an economics graduate from the University of California who manages her family’s media and automobile businesses, has promised a “professional and inclusive approach to development”.

Begum, banking on her grassroots connect and NC cadre support, has projected herself as a candidate of continuity and service delivery at the local level.

Harsh Dev Singh, who represented Ramnagar for three consecutive terms in 1996, 2002 and 2008, is contesting from Nagrota for the first time.

Anil Sharma, a former sarpanch and BJP rebel, is contesting as an Independent after failing to secure the party mandate. Another lawyer, Joginder Singh, is in the fray as the AAP candidate. Five more Independents are also contesting.

Nagrota has alternated between the BJP and NC over five elections since 1996. Ajatshatru Singh (NC) won in 1996, followed by BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma in 2002 and 2008. Devender Singh Rana won the seat for NC in 2014 and retained it in 2024 as a BJP candidate after switching parties in 2021.

The Congress has not fielded a candidate and did not formally join the NC campaign despite being coalition partners at the union territory level.

Candidates made final appeals urging voters to turn up in large numbers on polling day. PTI AB AB SKY SKY