Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], November 8 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Shagun Parihar on Saturday said that party candidate Devyani Rana will emerge victorious in the Nagrota assembly poll with an absolute majority.
"I can say with full confidence that our sister Devyani Rana will win in Nagrota with an absolute majority. And this victory will be a tribute to Devendra Singh Rana Sahib," Parihar told ANI.
Speaking on the Vande Mataram row, she said, "By opposing Vande Mataram, they have demonstrated their mentality, demonstrating that they still hold the same separatist views. The National Conference, PDP, and Congress have always talked about dividing the country."
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also expressed confidence that the BJP will emerge victorious in the Nagrota assembly bypoll, which has undergone a significant transformation over the last 11 years.
Speaking to reporters here, Singh said that Nagrota was a "backward and remote area", but a network of roads has been established.
"The BJP's victory here is assured. It is the character and practice of the BJP that for us, elections remain an opportunity for public outreach. It is necessary for us to explain the situation to the youth, as they may not be aware of what it was like here before 2002. Nagrota used to be a very backward and remote area. Today, a network of roads has been laid here," the Union Minister said.
He further accused the previous governments of "discriminating" against people from the Nagrota region and stated that the landscape in the region has undergone a complete transformation over the last 11 years.
"The demand for development never even arose because previous governments had discriminated against the people of this region. However, over the last 11 years, the landscape here has undergone a significant transformation. I am confident that the people here are determined to be part of that journey of development," Singh said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah earlier said that the bypoll in Nagrota will decide the constituency's relationship with the government. Addressing a rally to appeal for National Conference (NC) candidate Shamim Begum, he said that the bypolls would not impact the overall result of the Assembly elections, but would determine Nagrota's future.
The by-elections in Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota and Budgam constituencies will take place on November 11. The Nagrota seat was emptied after the demise of BJP leader and Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana. Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah resigned from the Budgam assembly seat and retained the Ganderbal constituency.
The results for the bypolls will be announced on November 14.
NC's Shamim Begum is in fray against the BJP's Devyani Rani in Nagrota. The Congress candidate has withdrawn their nomination in favour of Begum. A total of 13 candidates are contesting the bypolls.
In Budgam, the NC has fielded Agha Syed Mehmood against the PDP candidate Aga Muntazir Mehdi, the BJP's Aga Syed Mohsin. A total of 20 candidates are contesting the bye elections in Budgam.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has one legislator in Mehraj Malik in the Union Territory, has also fielded Deeba Khan from the Budgam constituency and Joginder Singh from the Nagrota seat.