Budgam: Voting underway amid tight security for high-stakes bypoll
Srinagar: Polling for the Budgam assembly by-election began at 7 am on Tuesday under tight security to decide the fate of 17 candidates, officials said.
Voting is taking place at 173 polling stations across the constituency and has been proceeding smoothly so far, they said. The polling will conclude at 6 pm.
The Budgam constituency has around 1.26 lakh registered voters, and elaborate security and administrative arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful and fair polling.
The bypoll is being viewed as a crucial test for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s government and his party, the National Conference (NC).
The election was necessitated after Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat following his victory from his family stronghold, Ganderbal, in last year’s assembly elections.
Budgam has long been considered an NC stronghold, with the party winning the seat in every election since 1962, except once in 1972 when a Congress candidate triumphed.
NC’s Srinagar MP, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, had earlier won from Budgam in 2002, 2008, and 2014, before Abdullah secured the seat in 2024.
This time, NC’s Aga Syed Mehmood faces a tough contest against PDP’s Aga Muntazir. Other prominent candidates include Syed Mohsin of the BJP, Nazir Ahmad Khan of the Awami Ittehad Party, Deeba Khan of the Aam Aadmi Party, and independent candidate Muntazir Mohiuddin.
