Having won seat twice, ruling NC relegated to third spot
BJP rebel, Independents fail to make mark
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 14: The BJP today retained Nagrota Assembly seat with its candidate Devyani Rana recording victory by 24,647 votes over former Minister and JKNPP-I candidate Harshdev Singh, who finished second relegating ruling National Conference nominee and sitting District Development Council (DDC) member Shamim Begum to third place while BJP rebel Anil Sharma, who joined the fray as an Independent candidate, failed to touch even four-digit mark.
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With this, the BJP tally in the Assembly has once again gone up to 29. BJP is second largest party in the Assembly behind NC which has 41 members.
Barring winner and runner-up, all other eight candidates including those from NC, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) forfeited their security deposits.
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Devyani Rana, daughter of BJP stalwart late Devender Singh Rana, whose sudden demise within fortnight of taking oath as MLA last October necessitated by-poll, won Nagrota seat polling 42,350 votes. Harshdev Singh, a former Minister and three-time MLA from Ramnagar, who jumped into fray from Nagrota as JKNPP-I candidate, secured 17,703 votes to finish second.
Devyani won the seat by a margin of 24,647 votes. Her father Devender Singh Rana had recorded 30,472 victory margin in 2024 polls.
Ruling NC suffered shock when its candidate Shamim Begum, a sitting DDC member, finished third with just 10872 votes, nearly 7000 short of Harshdev Singh, who was considered as an outsider and contested Nagrota seat for the first time. Top brass of NC including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had campaigned for Shamim Begum. Significantly, NC won Nagrota seat twice in 1996 and 2014.
BJP rebel Anil Sharma, who joined the race as an Independent candidate after trying for the party mandate, too suffered a major setback when he polled just 842 votes to finish fourth. JKAP candidate Bodh Raj got 392 votes and AAP nominee Joginder Singh secured 359 votes. JKNPP-B candidate Naresh Kumar Chib took just 213 votes. Forward Bloc nominee Qari Zaheer Abbas Bhatti secured 134 votes.
Two Independents including Gulzar Hussain (331) and Shah Mohd (288) failed to make any impact. NOTA (349) polled more votes than four candidates.
In September-October 2024 Assembly elections, Devender Rana polled 48,113 votes. Devyani, however, secured about 6000 votes less than her father. While NC’s Joginder Singh took 17,641 votes in 2024 election, Shamim polled 10872 votes, a decline of nearly 7000.
Congress candidate Balbir Singh had taken 5979 votes but this time, the Congress didn’t put up its candidate.
Votes polled in Nagrota constituency on November 11 were almost at par with 2024 polling.
Political observers are of the view that major chunk of National Conference and Congress votes shifted towards Harshdev Singh, whose impressive performance has shocked almost all political parties as he was not only an outsider for Nagrota but had started visiting the constituency only few months back. Harshdev won Ramnagar seat for three consecutive terms in 1996, 2002 and 2008 but lost in 2014. He was defeated from Chenani seat in 2024 as Ramnagar constituency was reserved for SCs.
BJP won 29 seats in 2024 Assembly elections but the number came down to 28 following demise of Devender Singh Rana. With Devyani’s victory, the BJP strength in the Assembly has again gone up to 29. BJP’s all 29 seats come from Jammu division. In Jammu district, BJP now holds 10 out of 11 Assembly seats.
As the news of her victory spread, Devyani Rana received a rousing reception from BJP workers at the counting centre complex.
Rana, who was garlanded on her arrival at the centre, said she thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and other party leaders for reposing faith in her.
“My victory goes to all the voters who cast their votes in my favour and to the party leadership for the confidence they have shown in me,” she told reporters here.
On the by-poll outcome, she said, “We are deeply grateful for the warm welcome we received, just as every household and family in Nagrota had blessed Devender Rana in 2024. Today, people have extended their blessings to us with the same love and support. We dedicate this victory to Devender Rana as a mark of respect. We wish to serve the people just as he did.”
An Economics Graduate from the University of California, Devyani Rana manages her family’s media and automobile businesses. She said she intends to bring a “fresh, professional approach” to politics while upholding the BJP’s principles of service and integrity.
“I believe in a 360-degree view of development — inclusive, participatory, and empowering. My focus will be on strengthening villages, Panchayats, and the entire constituency to ensure growth that benefits every section of the society,” she said.
The counting of votes was conducted at the Government Polytechnic College in Gandhi Nagar.
The Nagrota by-poll held on November 11 witnessed a voter turnout of more than 75 per cent.
Nagrota has alternated between the BJP and the NC in the last five Assembly elections, since 1996. BJP won the seat in 2002, 2008, 2024 and 2025 while NC emerged victorious in 1996 and 2014.
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