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The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly bypolls on Friday handed a sharp electoral setback to the Omar Abdullah–led National Conference (NC), with the ruling party losing both the Nagrota and Budgam seats despite a high-profile campaign backed by dozens of senior legislators. The results signal growing voter frustration and a shifting political landscape less than a year after the government returned to power.

In Nagrota, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched a commanding victory as its candidate Devyani Rana secured 42,183 votes, comfortably defeating Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Harsh Dev Singh, who managed 17,661. NC’s Shamim Begum trailed far behind with 10,834 votes, a margin that underscores the party’s diminishing influence in the region.

NC’s campaign firepower fails to inspire voters

Budgam, long regarded as an NC bastion, saw the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) pull off a crucial win. PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi defeated NC’s Aga Syed Mehmood by more than 4,000 votes in a crowded field of 17 candidates, dealing a symbolic blow in a constituency historically loyal to the National Conference.

Speaking to reporters after the victory, Mehdi said voters had chosen “change and accountability,” stressing that the area had been “ignored for over a year” and would now receive “effective and responsive representation.”

Despite deploying what insiders described as a “parade of 42 MLAs” to rally support, the NC struggled to counter spiralling anti-incumbency on the ground, and the effort ultimately failed to halt losses in both seats.

The party’s campaign was further weakened by the conspicuous absence of senior Shia leader and Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi. He refused to participate after expressing discontent over the delay in the Reservation Sub-Committee report, rising concerns around smart meter installations, and what he saw as a retreat from commitments on statehood and Article 370. Ruhullah is said to have instructed the party not to use his name or image, depriving the NC of one of its most influential figures in the region.

Analysts believe his non-engagement delivered a crucial advantage to the PDP, which intensified its grassroots mobilisation in the final stretch of the campaign.

Omar Abdullah faces first major test of his second term

With Nagrota now in BJP hands and Budgam shifting to the PDP, political observers say the bypolls mark the first serious electoral jolt for the Omar Abdullah government. The outcome, they note, could be an early warning of deeper discontent brewing across the Union Territory.

PDP supporters erupted in celebrations in Budgam as results poured in. Meanwhile, the NC leadership has begun internal reviews to assess the magnitude of the defeat and consider what it may mean for the government’s stability in the months ahead.