ECI gears up for Budgam, Nagrotabypolls alongside Bihar polls
-
By Shafat Malik
-
Comments 0
-
28 Sep 2025
Srinagar, Sept 28: The Election Commission of India is set to club the by-elections for Jammu & Kashmir’s Budgam and Nagrota Assembly segments with the Bihar Assembly polls, marking the first electoral contest in the Union Territory since the 2024 Assembly elections.
In a statement here today, the Commission said it would deploy 470 senior officers, 320 from the IAS, 60 from the IPS and 90 from IRS, IRAS and ICAS as General, Police and Expenditure Observers for the Bihar elections and bypolls in eight constituencies across six states, including J&K.
Budgam and Nagrota are among the segments where vacancies will be filled. The Commission will brief all appointed observers in New Delhi on October 3, ahead of the announcement of the Bihar poll schedule in the second week of October.
The Budgam seat fell vacant after National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, who contested from both Budgam and Ganderbal, chose to retain the Ganderbal constituency. In Nagrota, the vacancy was necessitated by the death of senior BJP leader and former legislator Devender Singh Rana, who had won from the segment in the 2024 elections.
In Nagrota, the BJP is expected to field Devyani Rana, daughter of the late Devender Rana, in a bid to retain the seat and consolidate the emotional connect the family holds in the constituency.
The National Conference, which secured a sizeable vote share in the previous election, has not announced its candidate yet and is holding internal deliberations in consultation with its alliance partners.
In Budgam, the contest is expected to see the Peoples Democratic Party put up Muntazir Mehdi as its candidate. Mehdi has already begun informal outreach in parts of the constituency. The National Conference is yet to take a final call on its nominee for Budgam, though party sources say the leadership is weighing multiple names to counter both the PDP and newer coalition formations.
Political analysts expect Nagrota to shape into a straight fight between the BJP and the NC-led alliance with BJP hilding more grip, while Budgam could witness a triangular contest involving the NC, the PDP and the Peoples Alliance for Change, which comprises the Peoples Conference, Peoples Democratic Front and Justice and Development Front.
According to the ECI, the observers will “work under the superintendence, control and discipline of the Commission” and are mandated to ensure free, fair and transparent polls. They will monitor field-level management, candidate expenditure and voter participation.
Along with J&K, observers have also been deputed for bye-elections in Rajasthan (Anta), Jharkhand (Ghatsila), Telangana (Jubilee Hills), Punjab (Tarn Taran), Mizoram (Dampa) and Odisha (Nuapada).
The early deployment of observers is being read as a clear signal that the Commission intends to hold the bypolls concurrently with the Bihar Assembly elections.
Leave a comment