J-K: Campaigning ends for Nagrota Assembly bypoll; 10 candidates in fray

Campaigning for the high-stakes Nagrota Assembly by-election in Jammu region concluded on Sunday evening, with all 10 candidates making their final appeals to voters ahead of polling on November 11.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP legislator Devender Singh Rana last year and has shaped up into a triangular contest among BJP's Devyani Rana, National Conference's (NC) Shamim Begum, and J&K National Panthers Party president Harsh Dev Singh.

The Aam Aadmi Party's Joginder Singh, Apni Party's Bodh Raj, and five others, including three independents, are also trying their luck from the constituency, which has 97,893 registered voters and 150 polling stations.

Campaigning began on October 13 with the issuance of the election notification and saw leaders from several parties, especially the NC and the BJP, crisscross the constituency over the last four weeks to garner support.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union Minister Jitendra Singh joined the campaign trail, lending momentum in its final phase. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, several ministers, and provincial leaders of the NC also held a series of rallies in support of Begum.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Sat Sharma and party MLAs campaigned for Devyani Rana, who wrapped up her outreach with a series of meetings across the constituency.

She said her political journey was guided by her father's vision of a progressive Nagrota and vowed to continue his developmental initiatives.

''This election is not just about politics, it is about trust and service. I will dedicate myself to the welfare of every section of society,'' she said, urging voters to turn out in large numbers on polling day.

An official in the election office said the campaigning ended peacefully at 6 pm and now the focus would be on ensuring peaceful voting, followed by the results on November 14.

NC nominee Shamim Begum appealed to voters to support her party's development-oriented agenda, saying the NC government had laid the foundation for progress in Nagrota.

''We will build upon that legacy and work to strengthen public services and empowerment,'' Begum, who is a district development council member, said.

The NC fielded Begum after its coalition partner, Congress, declined the offer to contest the seat.

Harsh Dev Singh, a former minister, called upon voters to ''choose merit over emotion,'' asserting that Nagrota needed a representative who could focus on genuine development and accountability.

Since the 1996 Assembly elections, the BJP has won the Nagrota seat three times -- 2002, 2008, and 2024 -- while the NC secured victories twice in 1996 and 2014.

Devender Singh Rana had twice represented Nagrota -- in 2014 and 2024 -- winning the last election with a record margin of 30,472 votes against his NC rival Joginder Singh after switching to the BJP from the NC in 2021.