Srinagar: PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir held a lead of over 2,000 votes against his closest contender, NC’s Aga Syed Mehmood, in the Budgam assembly bypoll on Friday.
As per the Election Commission’s website, Muntazir had polled 8,690 votes, while Mehmood had secured 6,656 votes after six of the 17 counting rounds.
BJP nominee Aga Syed Mohsin stood a distant sixth with 1,132 votes. In total, 17 candidates were contesting the bypoll.
Vote counting began at 8 am at the Government Higher Secondary School in Budgam. The November 11 bypoll saw a voter turnout of 50.02 per cent, with the constituency having around 1.26 lakh registered voters.
The by-election was held after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat, opting to retain Ganderbal—his family stronghold—after winning both constituencies in last year’s assembly elections.
