Srinagar- The by-elections to the Budgam and Nagrota Assembly constituencies delivered sharply contrasting results on Friday, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wresting Budgam from the National Conference (NC) for the first time in history, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cruised to a commanding victory in Nagrota.

Opposition PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir defeated ruling NC nominee Aga Syed Mehmood by 4,478 votes, securing 21,576 votes against Mehmood's 17,098, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The BJP's Aga Syed Mohsin fared poorly in the Shia-dominated segment, finishing sixth with 2,619 votes.

Budgam recorded a voter turnout of 50.01% of its 1.26 lakh electorate - slightly lower than the 52.27% turnout in last year's Assembly election.

The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat last year and chose to retain his family bastion of Ganderbal.

Muntazir, a law graduate from Amity University, New Delhi, had contested the 2024 assembly polls as well, losing to CM Omar by over 18,000 votes. This time, the political calculus worked in his favour.

Muntazir's election marks a historic shift in central Kashmir politics. It is the first time since 1977 that the NC has lost the Budgam seat while being in the fray. The party had won every election in the segment except in 1972, when it boycotted the polls.

The NC's rout is widely attributed to the absence of senior Shia leader and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, who stayed away from campaigning due to his differences with the party leadership over issues including reservation policy and the dilution of NC's stand on Article 370.

Despite Chief Minister Abdullah camping in the constituency for three days with ministers, MLAs and senior leaders, the ruling party could not halt the PDP's surge.

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