AAP to contest upcoming bypolls in J&K's Budgam, Nagrota Assembly seats

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday announced that it will contest the upcoming assembly byelections in Budgam and Nagrota constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir.

Bypolls to both Budgam and Nagrota assembly constituencies will be held on November 11 while counting of votes will be undertaken on November 14.

Budgam fell vacant immediately after the 2024 assembly elections when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chose to retain the Ganderbal constituency. The seat has been vacant since October 21, 2024.

Nagrota, on the other hand, fell vacant on October 31, 2024, after the death of BJP MLA Devender Singh Rana.

After meeting AAP J-K unit president and sitting MLA Mehraj Malik in Kathua jail, party spokesperson Appu Singh Slathia conveyed several messages, including the decision to fight the upcoming bypolls in the two assembly segments.

Quoting Malik, she said the election will be contested on both seats with "truth and commitment".

Malik was detained on September 8 under the stringent Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) and is presently lodged in Kathua district jail.

The PSA empowers the government to notify an order preventing the entry of unauthorised persons to a prohibited place. It prohibits any person from entering or loitering in the vicinity of any prohibited place without the permission of the government or the authority specified by it.

Slathia, who is also part of the legal team fighting Malik's detention case in the high court, said he requested party leaders and workers to continue their work with single-minded focus to serve the people.