JAMMU: Polling for the bye-elections in 27–Budgam and 77–Nagrota Assembly Constituencies concluded peacefully on Tuesday, with a significant voter turnout of 50.01% in Budgam and an impressive 74.82% in Nagrota, reflecting strong public participation in the democratic process.
The vacancies in the two constituencies arose due to the resignation of Omar Abdullah, who was elected from two constituencies, and the demise of Sh. Davinder Singh Rana, respectively. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had announced the bye-elections for these constituencies on October 6, 2025, alongside the general elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
The election process began on October 13, with the last date for withdrawal of nominations on October 24. A total of 17 candidates contested in Budgam and 10 in Nagrota. Since a single ballot unit can accommodate only 15 candidates plus NOTA, two ballot units were used per polling station in the Budgam constituency.
In Budgam, there were 1,26,025 registered electors across 173 polling stations, while Nagrota had 97,980 electors across 150 polling stations, all equipped with Assured Minimum Facilities. As per ECI directives, 100% webcasting was carried out from all polling stations to ensure transparency.
To facilitate Kashmiri migrant voters, the Commission also established 24 Special Polling Stations — 19 in Jammu, 1 in Udhampur, and 4 in Delhi — for those registered in the Budgam constituency. A total of 157 votes were polled in Jammu, 11 in Udhampur, and 10 in Delhi by Kashmiri migrants.
For the first time, voter turnout data was captured directly by Presiding Officers through a specially designed “Presiding Officer App” under the ECI’s Integrated ECTNet platform, significantly reducing transmission delays and potential data errors.
To ensure smooth and fair conduct of the elections, the Commission deployed General, Police, and Expenditure Observers in both constituencies, along with senior officers monitoring the polling and counting processes at special polling stations.
The counting of votes for both Budgam and Nagrota constituencies is scheduled to take place on November 14, 2025.
