NC to nominate candidate for Budgam bypoll next week: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, Oct 18 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) Vice-President, Omar Abdullah, said on Saturday that his party will nominate its candidate for the by-election in Budgam Assembly seat on Monday.

Two assembly seats of Nagrota in the Jammu division and Budgam in the Valley fell vacant after the incumbent BJP MLA from Nagrota, Devender Singh Rana passed away on October 31 last year and the NC MLA, Omar Abdullah, resigned from the Budgam seat after winning it during the 2024 Assembly elections.

Omar Abdullah had won the 2024 Assembly elections from two constituencies, Ganderbal and Budgam.

The Chief Minister has decided to represent the Ganderbal seat in the 90-member Assembly and relinquish the Budgam seat.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already nominated its candidates for these two bypolls, Devyani Rana from Nagrota and Aga Syed Mohsin from Budgam.

Muntazir Mohiuddin, Apni Party Spokesperson, led by Altaf Bukhari resigned from the Apni Party and decided to fight as an Independent from the Budgam Assembly seat.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also not nominated its candidate for the Budgam bypoll till now.

The NC has offered the Nagrota Assembly seat to its ally Congress, but there has been no formal announcement from the latter whether the party will field its candidate in alliance with the NC in this crucial seat.

The Election Commission has announced that voting for Budgam and Nagrota bypolls will take place on November 11.

In the 2024 Assembly elections, the NC had won 42, BJP 29, Congress six, PDP three, CPI-M one, Peoples Conference (PC) one, Aam Aadmi Party one, Awami Ittehad Party one and Independents six.

The Congress had later decided to support the current NC government from outside without joining it.

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