Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Nov 11: The Budgam Assembly bypoll in Central Kashmir today recorded 50.01% voter turnout with 63,013 out of 126,025 registered voters casting their ballots to decide the fate of 17 candidates.
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Voting began at 7 am and continued till 6 pm amid tight security arrangements. Officials said the polling concluded peacefully without any untoward incident. The turnout was slightly lower than the 51.13% recorded in last year’s Assembly elections, which officials attributed to the bone-chilling cold that swept the Valley, where sub-zero temperatures were reported overnight at several places.
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A total of 17 candidates were in the fray for the Budgam seat, including seven Independents. The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had won both Budgam and Ganderbal seats in the 2024 Assembly elections, vacated Budgam and retained Ganderbal. Abdullah had earlier secured 35,804 votes in Budgam, defeating People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, who polled 17,445 votes.
Budgam has been a traditional bastion of the National Conference (NC), which has won the seat in every election since 1962, except in 1972 when Congress emerged victorious. This time, the main contest is between NC’s Aga Syed Mehmood and PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi-both influential figures in the Shia community. Other candidates include BJP’s Aga Syed Mohsin, Awami Ittehad Party’s Nazir Ahmad Khan, Aam Aadmi Party’s Deeba Khan and Independent candidate Muntazir Mohiuddin.
The Election Commission of India had announced the bypolls on 6 October 2025, alongside the general elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. The nomination process began on 13 October, with 17 candidates contesting in Budgam. Since a single ballot unit can accommodate only 15 candidates plus NOTA, two ballot units were used in Budgam polling stations.
To facilitate voting, 173 polling stations were set up in Budgam all equipped with minimum assured facilities. The ECI said 100% webcasting was done from all polling stations to ensure transparency. Additionally, 24 special polling stations were set up-19 in Jammu, one in Udhampur, and four in Delhi-for Kashmiri migrant voters registered in Budgam. A total of 157 votes were polled at special stations in Jammu, 11 in Udhampur, and 10 in Delhi.
For the first time, poll turnout data was recorded directly by Presiding Officers through the new “Presiding Officer App” under the Integrated ECTNet platform, reducing errors and transmission delays. The counting of votes will take place on 14th November.
PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi said the election reflected people’s “yearning for change.” Speaking after casting his vote, he said, “People have been deprived of their basic rights-be it healthcare, education, or essential services. The NC has been an instrument of exploitation. But everything comes with an expiry date, and I am seeing that change take shape.”
NC candidate Aga Syed Mehmood said his vision was to make Budgam a “model constituency” if elected. “People of Budgam should elect someone who will do something for them. I have been accessible to people, and no one will be ignored if I am elected,” he said. On Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacating the seat, he added, “He has not ignored Budgam and has worked for the district.”
Despite the freezing temperatures, voters of all ages came out to cast their votes. Ghulam Mohammad Hajam, an 80-year-old resident of Wahabpora who came to vote with the help of his son, said, “We have no clean drinking water or electricity. We dine under candlelight and fetch water from neighbours’ bore wells. I have voted all my life, but I still hope that this time they will work for the welfare of the people.”
Another voter, a woman in Budgam, said she decided to switch support. “We have given a lot of votes to the National Conference in the past, but now we will vote for the PDP, which we think can change our destiny. We have many problems, including poor roads and lack of healthcare facilities,” she said.
Election officials said observers from the Election Commission-including General, Police, and Expenditure Observers-were deployed in both constituencies to monitor polling and counting. Senior ECI officers also oversaw voting at special polling stations in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
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