Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah hit the campaign trail in Nagrota on Thursday ahead of the November 11 bypoll, urging voters to choose a representative with access to the government rather than someone outside it.
Campaigning for NC candidate Shamim Begum, Abdullah told voters, “This is not an election to form the government or to choose a Prime Minister or Chief Minister. Those decisions have already been made.”
He explained that the bypolls in Nagrota and Budgam were about defining the people’s relationship with the current government. “Will your MLA be someone connected with the government, who has access to officials and can get work done, or someone who will remain outside and still try to serve you?” he asked.
Flanked by senior party leaders and ministers, Abdullah appealed to the electorate to support Shamim Begum, highlighting her track record as a district development committee member. “Our sister has been working for you for the past four and a half years. Let her continue serving you in the Assembly for the next four years. On November 11, press the third button and make her win. We will continue the development work started between 2009 and 2014,” he said.
Referring to the 2024 Assembly elections, Abdullah reminded voters that while the NC had also fielded a candidate then, the people had chosen Devender Singh Rana of the BJP, who had earlier represented Nagrota as an NC MLA from 2009 to 2014.
The Nagrota bypoll was necessitated by Rana’s demise on October 31 last year. His daughter, 30-year-old entrepreneur Devyani Rana, is now contesting from the seat on a BJP ticket.
The election has shaped up into a three-cornered contest, with Devyani Rana facing NC’s 37-year-old Shamim Begum, a postgraduate in Urdu, and Harsh Dev Singh, president of the J&K National Panthers Party, a senior lawyer and former education minister. AAP’s Joginder Singh, also a lawyer, and five Independent candidates are also in the fray.
