In Jammu and Kashmir, nearly 98.000 electorates will decide the fate of 10 candidates in the by-election to the Nagrota Assembly constituency on November 11, though the main fight remains confined among four contestants as campaigning came to an end last evening. Devyani Rana, daughter of BJP stalwart Devender Singh Rana, who won the seat in the 2024 Assembly elections but passed away within a fortnight after taking oath, has been fielded by the BJP. She is being challenged by Shamim Begum, a sitting District Development Council (DDC) member, contesting as the National Conference nominee.
Former Minister and three-time MLA from Ramnagar, Harshdev Singh, is also contesting from Nagrota for the first time. After winning the Ramnagar seat for three consecutive terms in 1996, 2002, and 2008, he lost in 2014 from the same segment and in 2024 from Chenani. Anil Sharma, an ex-Sarpanch and BJP rebel, has entered the fray as an Independent candidate after failing to secure the party mandate. Among the six other candidates are Joginder Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party and Bodh Raj of the Apni Party. The Congress has not fielded any candidate in Nagrota.
For 97.893 electorates, election authorities have set up 150 polling stations in the constituency, which has returned a BJP candidate thrice and a National Conference candidate twice in the past five elections since 1996. The by-poll was necessitated due to the sudden demise of Devender Singh Rana within a fortnight of taking oath as MLA. Rana had won the seat with over 30.000 votes, while the National Conference finished second and the Congress a distant third.
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