The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regained its tally of 29 MLAs in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after securing a decisive victory in the Nagrota bypoll, a contest widely viewed as a crucial test of the party’s standing in the region.

BJP candidate Devyani Rana won the seat by a margin of 24,647 votes, defeating National Conference (NC) candidate Shamim Begum and J&K Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh, a former minister. Harsh Dev finished second with 17,703 votes, while Shamim Begum secured 10,872 votes, standing third despite representing the ruling NC.

The bypoll was closely watched, particularly because the BJP had slipped from 29 to 28 MLAs following the death of Nagrota MLA Devender Singh Rana last year. Rana, brother of Union Minister Jitendra Singh, had won the seat in the 202

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