"BJP's victory assured": Union Minister Jitendra Singh ahead of Nagrota bypoll

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], November 8 (ANI): Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge victorious in the Nagrota assembly bypoll, which has witnessed a transformation in 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.
He said, "People of Jammu and Kashmir used their votes and gave the Jammu Kashmir National Conference a mandate to form a government. We fielded a candidate in Nagrota, but the people decided something else, maybe because of the work done from 2004 to 2009."
"This election is neither to choose a Prime Minister nor a Chief Minister; those decisions have been made. If the BJP gets one more seat, the decision would not change. However, you must decide on your relationship with the government. Do you want an MLA who has coordination with the government or an MLA who tries to work for you outside the government?" Abdullah asked.
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. (ANI)