Voting underway for Nagrota bypoll, 34.47% turnout recorded till 11 am

Jammu, Nov 11 (PTI) Polling for the Nagrota assembly by-election in Jammu and Kashmir was underway amid tight security arrangements on Tuesday, with 34.47 per cent voter turnout recorded till 11 am, according to Election Commission data.

Voting began at 7 am across 154 polling stations on the outskirts of Jammu city and has been progressing smoothly with no untoward incident reported so far, officials said. Polling will conclude at 6 pm.

Long queues were seen at several polling stations in the constituency.

BJP candidate Devyani Rana, daughter of former MLA Devender Singh Rana whose death necessitated the bypoll, visited various polling booths and expressed confidence in securing a strong mandate "I am hopeful of my victory. People of the constituency will bless me with a large number of votes, just as they blessed my father and former MLA Devender Singh Rana," she told reporters at the Katal Batal polling station. She urged voters to turn out to vote in large numbers.

Former Naib Sarpanch Girdari Lal said there was “enthusiasm among voters” and that polling was taking place peacefully.

"All arrangements are in place and people are coming out to vote in good numbers," he said.

The contest is largely triangular, involving the BJP, National Conference (NC) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).

BJP's Devyani Rana is seeking to capitalise on public sympathy and her MLA father’s goodwill after he died in October last year.

Rana is pitted against NC nominee and sitting District Development Council (DDC) member Shamim Begum, and JKNPP president Harsh Dev Singh, a former state Education Minister and three-time MLA from Ramnagar.

Rana, an economics graduate from the University of California and currently managing her family’s businesses, has campaigned on a platform of “professional and inclusive development”.

Begum has banked on grassroots outreach and organisational support from the NC to project continuity in local governance.

Singh, contesting Nagrota for the first time, has highlighted his legislative experience and asserted himself as an alternative to both major parties.

A total of 97,893 voters are eligible to decide the fate of 10 candidates in the bypoll, which was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Devender Singh Rana on October 31 last year.

Voters are lined up at Kol Kandoli polling station waiting for their turn to poll votes. Sunita Devi, who polled her vote, says it is for continuance of the development of the Nagrota area.

Nagrota has alternated between the BJP and NC over 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. PTI AB SKY SKY