As announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), by-elections for Budgam in Kashmir and Nagrota in Jammu will be held on November 11, 2025, with the counting of votes on November 14, 2025. The ECI released the schedule on October 6, 2025, alongside the timetable for the Bihar Assembly elections.
The Budgam seat was vacated by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Following the 2024 assembly elections, Abdullah won from both Budgam and the family stronghold of Ganderbal. He chose to retain the Ganderbal seat.
Here, the contest is expected to be a key battleground, with speculation of a triangular fight between the National Conference (NC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the People’s Alliance for Change.
The Nagrota by-election was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Devender Singh Rana. He passed away on October 31, 2024, just a few weeks after winning the seat in the 2024 elections.
This seat will likely see a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the NC-led alliance. In the 2024 election, the late Devender Singh Rana won the seat for the saffron party by a margin of over 30,000 votes.
In April 2025, the ECI completed the rationalisation of polling stations to ensure a transparent and smooth polling process.
In Budgam, the number of polling stations was increased from 156 to 173. While in Nagrota, the number of polling stations was increased from 145 to 150.