Nagrota vibes: Electorate reflect on choices as ‘silence period’ begins

Jammu, Nov 9: As the high-pitched political canvassing came to an end with the commencement of ‘silence period’ from 6 pm on Sunday, Nagrota went into “reflective mode to ponder over its choices”, before going to polls after 48-hours.

By-poll in Nagrota assembly segment of Jammu division is scheduled to be held, along with Budgam assembly segment in Kashmir division, on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.

Nagrota seat had fallen vacant due to the sudden demise of BJP legislator and its senior leader Devender Singh Rana on October 31, 2024, just few days after the result of J&K assembly elections. By-election in Budgam assembly segment was necessitated after the resignation of the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

The segment has to elect its new representative in the J&K Legislative Assembly out of ten candidates, viz., Harsh Dev Singh of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party-India (JKNPP-I), Devyani Rana of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); Shamim Begum of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC); Joginder Singh of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); Naresh Kumar Chib of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party-Bhim (JKNPP-Bhim); Bodh Raj of Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party; Qari Zaheer Abbas Bhatti of All India Forward Bloc, Anil Sharma and Shah Moh, Gulzar Hussain all independents.

However, going by the campaigning trends, first three candidates (Harsh, Devyani and Shamim) have hogged all the limelight, dropping clear hints that the constituency is set to witness a triangular contest.

All three candidates have their own unique challenges and advantages.

Poll-nomics has its own indices to gauge the flavour and mood of the electorate. If one talks in terms of election rallies, Devyani – the daughter of Devender Rana- is the front-runner as a crowd-puller, though it is her maiden political venture.

As vivacious youngest candidate in fray, she has been quick to strike the chord with almost all sections of people, in particular with the women and the youngsters. Carrying a rich and impressive legacy of her father, Devyani, during her campaigns, continued to charm people with her humble demeanour and personal touch. Her emotional appeals recalling her late father’s love, compassion and commitment for Nagrota and its people as their representative have been effective. Besides, the strength of BJP rank and file too is working to her advantage.

As compared to Devyani, her two main adversaries Shamim and Harsh Dev are not new to politics. While Harsh Dev thrice represented Ramnagar assembly constituency of Udhampur district in the J&K Legislative Assembly and also served as a minister, Shamim is a DDC member from Dansal area of Nagrota.

The campaign of Harsh Dev, who is new to Nagrota, mainly revolves around BJP-Congress-NC bashing. As far as Shamim is concerned, she is mainly relying on NC’s cadre strength. NC has a loyal core constituency among Scheduled Tribe voters.

Besides this trio, however, a fourth candidate, who is gaining traction to some extent, is Anil Sharma, a BJP rebel and All India Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) president. It is being presumed that he may cut a vote share (mainly among the Brahmins) of BJP.

Interestingly, Sharma has promised to distribute his salary as an MLA, in case of his election, to the elderly people, widows and handicapped, as pension.

Even on the last day of campaigning, the key players stuck to their agendas.

Former minister and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) candidate Harsh Dev reiterated that he wanted to do something for Nagrota.

“It is adjacent to Jammu and still it is deprived of even basic amenities. For the past one year, I’ve been working on the ground among the people here. I’ve tried to reach each and every electorate. I want to be the voice of the voiceless. In Ramnagar, despite being a hilly area, I left no area where roads were not constructed,” he stated.

“Bharatiya Janata Party, National Conference and Congress have represented this segment in the past. It, now, needs a change. 28 BJP MLAs will be exposed if I reach the J&K Legislative Assembly. Now all its MLAs, MPs are reaching every nook and corner of Nagrota just to stop Harsh Dev Singh. Where were they earlier? I gave employment to 35000 youth. What did they all do? Nagrota will witness a new revolution.  NC is in collusion with the BJP. It has fielded its candidate only to benefit BJP,” he alleged.

From NC, the Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary led the front on the concluding day of campaigning.

Joined by senior party leaders viz., former minister Ajay Sadhotra; provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta and MLA Bashir Ahmed Veeri, Choudhary called for “holding BJP accountable” for, what he said, “its deceit and inaction” during the past one year and particularly during recent rains and floods, despite having 28 MLAs.

“While NC leadership was on the ground providing succour to the suffering people, BJP MLAs were nowhere to be seen. They could not bring even a single penny from the Centre as relief,” he stated.

Devyani Rana wrapped up her vigorous election campaign with a message of gratitude and resolve to carry forward the vision of development, empowerment, and inclusive progress envisioned by her father.

“This election is all about strengthening the journey of transformation that the BJP has initiated across Jammu and Kashmir under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” she said.