BJP Hoping To Romp Home From Nagrota Assembly Seat

BJP faces its most significant challenge in Nagrota from a potential National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance, even as the party hopes its focus on development will lead to victory in the upcoming polls.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the NC is open to an agreement with Congress on the Nagrota seat. At a press conference, he stated, “We are talking with Congress over the by-elections. If Congress has a strong candidate in Nagrota, we are ready for an agreement and have no objection.” The next day, Omar added that NC asked Congress to field its candidate in Nagrota and assured full support.

BJP is focused on retaining the seat by pledging development in the constituency, and will also highlight the neglect of the Hindu-majority Jammu region under NC rule as a key argument in its campaign.

The seat became vacant after the death of BJP MLA Devender Singh Rana, who had switched from NC to BJP last year. Voting is scheduled for November 11 with results on November 14, and nomination deadlines are set for late October.

On Wednesday, the BJP officially named Devyani Rana, daughter of late MLA Devender Singh Rana, as its candidate for the Nagrota assembly seat. The Apni Party has nominated Bodh Raj as its candidate for the same seat.

The Nagrota constituency has long seen the BJP and the NC competing for dominance. This election, a pre-poll NC-Congress alliance creates a strong opposition, while the entry of Panthers Party (India) chairman Harsh Dev Singh intensifies competition. Both Devyani Rana and Harsh Dev have filed nominations.

BJP chief spokesperson, Sunil Sethi, says that the party was hopeful of winning the seat.  

“Our campaigning will focus on continuing the developmental works initiated by the late Devendar Rana. His daughter, who is contesting for the seat, would maintain a developmental momentum and fulfil the promises that have been made by him,”  he says.

Sethi adds that another campaign highlight would be fighting the neglect faced on the developmental front in the Jammu region, which the people have to endure during the current NC-Congress rule, describing this as a punishment meted out to the people who didn’t vote for the party in last year’s assembly elections.

Harsh Dev Singh had earlier urged NC and Congress to field him as a common opposition candidate. Now running as the Panthers Party (India) candidate for Nagrota, he has stated that the constituency has experienced complete neglect on the development front. He says, "The people have to suffer in Nagrota immensely due to the lack of basic amenities. They lack potable water facilities and don’t have paved roads. The constituency has been neglected for years, and there are also problems of power cuts."

Last year, BJP’s Devender Rana, formerly of NC, won Nagrota with 48,113 votes. NC’s Joginder Singh received 17,641, and Congress’s Balbir Singh got 5,979. Congress and NC avoided contesting against each other except on five seats, including Nagrota, calling it a friendly fight.

Congress supports the NC government led by Omar Abdullah, but has not joined the ministry to protest delays by the central government in granting statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Apni Party media advisor Farooq Andrabi says the party is hopeful of victory as its candidate brings political experience and promises development for Nagrota.

This seat has historically alternated between the BJP and NC. In 2014, Rana won as an NC candidate with 23,678 votes, defeating the BJP’s Nand Kishore.

In 2008 and 2002, BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma won the seat, narrowly defeating NC’s Ajat Shatru Singh. Ajat Shatru won in 1996 for the NC.