Srinagar bypoll: Farooq Abdullah leads over PDP's Nazir Ahmad Khan by 2,000 votes

Srinagar: Counting of votes for Srinagar-Budgam Parliamentary by-election began at 8 a.m. here on Saturday. National Conference President and party candidate Farooq Abdullah on Saturday was leading by nearly 8,000 votes over his PDP rival Nazir Ahmad Khan during the counting of votes for the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha by-election. State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Shantmanu who visited the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar on Friday, where the counting is scheduled, said counting of votes would begin simultaneously in Jammu, Udhampur and New Delhi where Kashmiri migrants had voted. There are nine candidates in the fray, but the main contest is between former Chief Minister and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Nazir Ahmad Khan. Voting in the by-election was held on April 9. Only seven per cent voters turned out to exercise their franchise. Eight civilian protesters were killed in clashes with the security forces on April 9. Separatists had called for a boycott of these polls.