23 Candidates Lose Deposits in J&K Bypolls Including Ruling National Conference Nominee

In the Nagrota constituency, a total of 73,833 valid votes were recorded, while Budgam saw 63,099 valid votes cast.

Srinagar:

The National Conference (NC) candidate contesting from Nagrota assembly segment was among 23 candidates who lost their security deposits in the recent Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly bypolls, according to results announced Friday.

In the Nagrota assembly constituency in Jammu, eight out of ten candidates forfeited their deposits, including the ruling party's representative Shamim Begum.

Under electoral rules, candidates forfeit their deposits when they fail to secure more than 16.67 percent of the total valid votes polled in their constituency.

Shamim Begum received only 15 percent of valid votes, totaling 10,872 votes and placing third, trailing the winner, BJP's Devyani Rana, by 31,478 votes.

The remaining unsuccessful candidates in Nagrota managed to secure only three-digit vote counts.

In the Budgam constituency, where 17 candidates participated in the bypoll, 15 lost their deposits.

Among those forfeiting deposits in Budgam was BJP candidate Aga Syed Mohsin Mosvi, who obtained just 2,619 votes.

Interestingly, the None Of The Above (NOTA) option received more votes than eleven candidates across both constituencies.

NOTA garnered 544 votes in Budgam and 349 votes in Nagrota.

In Budgam, NOTA outperformed seven candidates, while in Nagrota, it received more votes than four candidates.