By-polls early trends: Congress leading in Telangana’s Jubilee Hills; NC leads in Budgam, BJP leads in Nagrota in J&K

NEW DELHI: Vote counting for by-elections in eight Assembly constituencies across six states and one Union Territory began on Friday, with early trends from Telangana’s Jubilee Hills seat showed Congress candidate Naveen Yadav securing an initial edge, leading BRS nominee Maganti Gopinath by 47 votes after the first of 10 rounds of counting.

In Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam Assembly by-election, NC candidate Aga Syed Mahmood Al Mosavi established an early advantage, leading by 624 votes over the PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi after round one of 17.

Meanwhile, in J&K’s Nagrota constituency, BJP candidate Devyani Rana secured an early lead as counting progressed.

Rajasthan’s Anta constituency also reported an early edge for the Congress, with party nominee Pramod Jain “Bhaya” leading by 246 votes after the first of 20 rounds.

In Punjab, Tarn Taran recorded an early lead for Aam Aadmi Party’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu. The constituency is witnessing a four-way contest, with Harmeet Singh Sandhu pitted against Congress’s Karanbir Singh, BJP’s Harjit Singh Sandhy, and SAD’s Sukhwinder Kaur.

Further east, MNF candidate R Lalthangliana emerged ahead in Mizoram’s Dampa seat as early counting figures were released.

The by-elections, being held simultaneously with the Bihar Assembly elections, began at 8 am and cover constituencies spread across Telangana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Jharkhand.

Nagrota is seeing a head-to-head contest between the BJP and the National Conference (NC), with the latter fielding Shamim Begum.

In Punjab, the by-poll for the Tarn Taran assembly constituency took place on November 11. The seat fell vacant following the death of the sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, Kashmir Singh Sohal, in June 2025.

In Jammu and Kashmir, polling for the by-elections was held in Budgam following the resignation of Omar Abdullah from the constituency. Chief Minister Abdullah chose to retain the Ganderbal constituency and vacate Budgam after winning both the seats in the 2024 assembly elections.

The main contenders in Budgam are Aga Syed Mehmood of the ruling National Conference and Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, led by Mehbooba Mufti.

Additionally, Nagrota seat of Jammu and Kashmir fell vacant after the demise of BJP legislator Devender Singh Rana last year. Rana passed away within a fortnight of taking the oath. 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.

Vote counting took place in Anta constituency of Rajasthan’s Baran district following the disqualification of BJP MLA Kanwar Lal Meena, who was convicted in a case dating back to 2005. He was accused of threatening a government official and was convicted in May this year.

In Jharkhand’s Ghatshila constituency, the fight is between Babulal Soren, son of former BJP Chief Minister Champai Soren, and Mahagathbandhan candidate Somesh Chandra Soren.

In Odisha, the Nuapada Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of senior BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia in September. Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jay Dholakia will be eyeing to strengthen the party’s position in the state’s assembly as he faces BJD’s Snehangini Chhuria and Congress’s Ghasiram Majhi.

In Telangana’s Jubilee Hills constituency seat, the fight is between Congress’s Naveen Yadav, a leader from the Backwards Class (BC), and BRS’s Sunitha, Gopinath’s widow. The BJP has selected Lankala Deepak Reddy as its candidate. (ANI)