In a significant victory, BJP's Devender Singh Rana won the Nagrota assembly seat in J&K, defeating Joginder Singh (alias Kaku) of the National Conference by over 30,000 votes. Rana secured a total of 48,113 votes, while Singh received 17,641 votes.

The Hindu-majority Nagrota Assembly constituency is gearing up for a significant political contest in the assembly elections, featuring more than six candidates. Key contenders include Devender Singh Rana from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who is the brother of Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Rana, who won Nagrota seat in 2014 and is a proponent of the Jammu Declaration (a roadmap for an inclusive Jammu and Kashmir) quit the National Conference and joined the BJP three years ago.

Eight candidates are competing for the seat. The BJP secured the seat in 2002 and 2008. Rana, who was once a close confidante of NC vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, is now facing competition from Joginder Singh (alias Kaku) of the NC, Balbir Singh of the Congress, and Shak Mohammad of the BSP.

The Congress and the NC are in a 'friendly' contest for this seat. Rana is also the wealthiest candidate in the final phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir.

Vote Share (2014)

Winner: Devender Singh Rana (JKNC): 23,678 votes, 39.03 % (vote share)

Nand Kishore (BJP): 19,630 votes, 32.35 % (vote share)

Margin of Victory: 4,048

Party Performance in Previous Elections

In the 2014 assembly elections, the PDP emerged as the single-largest party in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, securing 28 out of 87 seats. The BJP followed closely as the second-largest party with 25 seats, while the National Conference and Congress managed only 15 and 12 seats, respectively.

Background of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections

As the region recently held assembly elections in phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, this election marks the first since the abrogation of Article 370. The Election Commission of India reported a noteworthy voter turnout of 63.88% in these elections. In this election cycle, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and Congress contested jointly as partners in the INDIA alliance, while the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opted to fight independently.