NC fields Gujjar Bakerwal candidate Shamim Begum from Nagrota

October 20, 2025 by News Desk

After the Congress declined the offer to contest the Nagrota seat, the Jammu Kashmir National Conference (NC) on Monday announced that District Development Council (DDC) member Shamim Begum will be its candidate from the constituency.

NC’s Provincial President for Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta, confirmed the decision, saying, “The party high command has cleared her name and she will be filing her nomination papers soon.”

Shamim Begum, a Muslim Gujjar woman, had earlier won the 2020 DDC elections from Nagrota.

The Congress, meanwhile, has opted out of the contest in a bid to strengthen the alliance’s chances against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a late-night statement, the party said it decided to leave the seat to its ally, the National Conference, “keeping in view the larger interests and the goal of defeating the BJP.”

The Congress cited several factors behind its decision, including the outcome of the 2024 Assembly elections, when the NC had finished second in the constituency while both parties maintained a “friendly contest.” The statement noted that after detailed deliberations with the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee and the party’s central leadership, the decision was made “in furtherance of the broader principles and goals of the coalition to defeat the BJP.”

However, the move comes amid growing tensions between the coalition partners, following the National Conference’s refusal to allocate a “safe” seat to the Congress for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for October 24. The NC had reportedly offered the Congress the fourth, relatively riskier seat, an offer the party declined.

Sources within the Congress said both the state and central leadership are upset with what they describe as the NC’s failure to honour its commitment regarding seat-sharing arrangements for the Rajya Sabha polls.