J-K BJP chief Ravinder Raina loses Nowshera seat to NC candidate

Jammu: While the BJP on Tuesday bagged an all-time high of 29 seats in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the party's state president Ravinder Raina failed to retain his Nowshera assembly seat of Rajouri district and said he has "accepted the verdict of people".

Raina, who polled 27250 votes, lost to National Conference's Surinder Choudhary by a margin of 7,819 votes, according to data on Election Commission (EC) website.

Choudhary polled 35,069 votes.

"I have accepted the verdict of the people. I thank them for their support," Raina told PTI.

Thanking people for showing their support to the BJP, 47-year-old party leader said, "We thank the people for voting and supporting the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has achieved an all-time high with a record number of 29 assembly seats. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the electorate." "We have suffered a setback with the loss of the Nowshera constituency seat. We accept the people's verdict, but the BJP is humbled by the overwhelming result in the elections. The party has also secured the highest vote share in J-K," he added.

The BJP leader offered prayers at the historical Bawe Kali Mata temple before the start of vote counting on Tuesday morning.

Raina first entered the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly as an MLA from the Nowshera constituency at the age of 37. Prior to that, he was elected president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJP Youth Wing) at 34 and later became the president of the Jammu and Kashmir BJP at 41.

BJP has for the first time won 29 seats in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.