Voting underway for four Rajya Sabha seats in J&K

Result to be declared by 6pm; going by numbers, the 41-member NC, which has the backing of the six Congress, three PDP and one CPM MLA besides six Independents, is likely to sail through in three seats. The contest for the final seat is close.

As majority of legislators cast their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections to four seats in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, the competition for the fourth seat has become tough for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), particularly after the Peoples Democratic Party, Congress, Awami Ittehad Party and Independents announced they were backing the National Conference candidates.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah leaves the assembly in Srinagar after casting his vote during the elections for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. (PTI Photo)

The result is expected to be announced by 6pm on Friday, officials said.

The election to four Rajya Sabha seats is underway in the assembly complex in Srinagar with 86 of the 88 MLAs casting their votes, while jailed Doda MLA Mehraj Malik of the Aam Aadmi Party cast his vote through a postal ballot.

Chief Minister and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah led the voting process of his party. People’s Conference president Sajad Lone chose to abstain from voting.

“Our effort has been to defeat the BJP. The Congress is committed opposing the communal politics of the BJP. I am hopeful that all the four seats will go to the INDIA bloc,” said Congress MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone after casting his vote.

For seat 1 and 2, a candidate has to secure 45 votes to win, while for seat 3 and 4 (which are going to polls collectively), a candidate will have to acquire 29-30 votes for each seat to win in the 88-member assembly.

The NC with 41 MLAs has the advantage as it has the support of all MLAs except the BJP’s 28 members.

With six MLAs of the Congress, three of the PDP, and seven Independents, including one of AIP, the NC tally reaches 57.

Mehraj Malik’s vote will also be crucial considering he was supportive of the ruling NC-Congress coalition.

Going by the mathematics and the present strength in the assembly, the NC could win three seats easily, while the BJP is expected to give it a tough competition on the fourth seat, particularly if there is some cross-voting by independents who don’t have to show their votes unlike those formally affiliated to respective parties.

“Let’s wait for two more hours to get the results. We don’t need to buy anyone if they are ready to come to us. The NC has tried to consolidate the votes on the basis of religion and region,” said BJP’s leader of opposition Sunil Sharma.

PDP president and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that three PDP legislators’ vote will go for NC as she expects the support of the government in passage of certain important Bills in the assembly, especially the land regularisation Bill for poor people and the regularisation of the services of daily-wagers.

State Congress committee president Tariq Hameed Karra on Thursday evening announced the decision to support the NC.

This is the first Rajya Sabha election from Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and downgrading and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

The elections for the four Rajya Sabha seats in J&K are divided into three notifications. The Election Commission of India had issued three notifications for the four Rajya Sabha seats in J&K, holding elections separately on two seats, while the polls for the other two seats are being held under a common notification.

Chowdhury Mohammed Ramzan of the National Conference is in direct contest with Ali Mohammed Mir of the BJP in one of the seats.

For the second seat, National Conference’s Sajjad Kitchloo is fighting against Rakesh Mahajan of the BJP.

For the third notification, the NC has fielded party treasurer GS Oberoi, also known as Shammi Oberoi, and its young state spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar against BJP’s Sat Sharma.

The Union Territory, with four Rajya Sabha seats, had remained unrepresented in the Upper House since February 15, 2021, the day when Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmed Laway completed their terms.

Two other members, Fayaz Ahmed Mir and Shamsheer Singh Manhas, completed their terms on February 10 the same year. (With PTI inputs)