Srinagar, Nov. 15 -- Even though the ruling National Conference lost both the seats -Nagrota and Budgam- in the by-elections, the loss in Budgam, considered to be NC's bastion, is far more significant, especially after party's sweeping victory in 2024 assembly polls. This was NC's first defeat from the assembly constituency. After the end of the 17th round of counting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Aga Muntazir secured the Budgam seat by margin of 4,478 votes defeating NC candidate and his uncle Aga Mehmood In the last assembly election, Muntazir was the runner up with National Conference candidate and party vice-president Omar Abdullah securing a win, who then vacated this seat and retained the Ganderbal seat, which led to bypolls. The refusal of Srinagar MP and three-time assembly member from Budgam, Aga Ruhullah, to campaign for the party also hag a huge impact on the results and no attempts were made from party's top leadership, especially J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, to woo him back. "Its a big setback for NC especially when they lost in Budgam its traditional seat and Nagrota where party stood distant third. The party needs to introspect what went wrong even in gap of 11 to 12 months. This win will give opposition PDP a boost and an additional member in the assembly," said Haroon Ahmad a political analyst. Soon after losing Budgam seat, NC MP Aga Ruhullah termed it as a "loss of arrogance". "Arrogance is the recipe for disaster. Consciousness, humility and introspection is the way," Ruhullah posted on social networking site X soon after defeat of National Conference's candidates. "This verdict has less to do with PDP's appeal than being a vindication of Aga Ruhullah's stand and an answer by people to Omar Abdullah govt's political and governance inertia in the past one year," said a Srinagar based political analyst Bilal Ahmad. PDP also termed the results of Budgam bypolls as answer from people to NC and J&K chief minister. "Today people of Budgam have given an answer to Omar Abdullah who had blamed people of Kashmir for involvement in land grabbing and electricity theft. Today people have shown NC its original place," PDP leader and legislator Waheed ur Rehman Para said. National Conference spokesperson Tahir Sayeed said they will review the results. "The NC will certainly review today's election results, but one fact remains undeniable: the Budgam by-election was NC versus all. This was evident from the PDP's own victory celebrations, where slogans were raised in favour of individuals rather than the party itself. Even on social media, it was BJP supporters who appeared most enthusiastic about PDP's win. Despite the unprecedented challenges in Budgam, NC workers stood their ground and worked tirelessly. Their dedication is truly commendable," he wrote on Facebook....