SRINAGAR: Polling for the high-stakes Budgam Assembly seat in the Jammu and Kashmir bypolls has begun, with voters braving the cold to reach polling stations and cast their votes.

Over two lakh voters will decide the fate of 27 candidates in the Budgam and Nagrota Assembly bypolls, seen as a high-stakes contest and a popularity test for both the ruling National Conference and the opposition BJP.

The bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat to retain Ganderbal, while the Nagrota seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MLA Devender Singh Rana in October last year.

A total of 17 candidates including NC’s Aga Mahmood, PDP’s Aga Muntazir, BJP’s Aga Mohsin, AIP’s Nazir Ahmad Khan and AAP’s Deeba Khan are in the fray from Budgam.

A total of 1,26,025 voters including 63,803 males, 62,222 females, 1,241 migrant voters, and 251 service electors are eligible to cast their votes in 173 polling stations.

In last year’s Assembly elections, Budgam recorded a voter turnout of 52.27 percent.

The Budgam bypoll is a crucial contest for the ruling National Conference, as the seat was previously held by CM Abdullah. Understanding this, the NC had gone all out in bypolls and used all its political machinery to reach out to voters and seek votes for the party’s candidate.

Mahmood faces a stiff challenge from PDP’s Aga Muntazir.