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National Conference wins 3, BJP 1 in first J&K Rajya Sabha polls since Article 370 move
NC’s Chowdhary M Ramzan, Sajjad Kichloo and G. S Oberoi won three seats and the BJP’s Satpal Sharma clinched the fourth seat in a nail biting contest
The National Conference (NC) on Friday won three Rajya Sabha seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled off a surprising victory in one seat in Jammu & Kashmir, the first time polls for the Upper House was held in the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370.
In neighbouring Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate Rajinder Gupta had won his seat unopposed on October 16. The results put the INDIA bloc at 133 seats in the 245-member Upper House, compared to the National Democratic Alliance’s 80.
In the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, 86 of the 88 lawmakers physically cast their votes and incarcerated legislator from Doda, Mehraj Malik, used a postal ballot. People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone chose to abstain from voting.
NC’s Chowdhary M Ramzan, Sajjad Kichloo and G. S Oberoi won three seats and the BJP’s Satpal Sharma clinched the fourth seat in a nail biting contest, defeating Imran Nabi Dar from the NC and sparking speculation about cross voting.
“Heartiest congratulations to my colleagues Ch Mohd Ramzan Sb, Sajad Kichloo & Shammi Oberoi on their victory in the Rajya Sabha polls. I wish them well as they begin a new innings representing the people of J&K in the Parliament of India,” said chief minister Omar Abdullah.
But, he also underlined the possibility of cross voting that helped Sharma defeat Dar by 10 votes (32-22), emphasising that no NC legislator cross-voted.
“There was no cross voting from any of our MLAs so the questions arise - where did the 4 extra votes of the BJP come from? Who were the MLAs who deliberately invalidated their votes by marking a wrong preference number while voting? What pressure or inducement helped them make this choice? Let’s see if any of the BJP’s secret team own up to selling their souls!” he posted on X.
The BJP rejected the allegations. “We don’t need to buy anyone if they are ready to come to us on their own. NC tried to consolidate the votes on the basis of religion and region,” Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma said.
The elections were held under three notifications with seat 3 and 4 going to polls under a single notification issued by the Election Commission of India. For seat 1 and 2, a candidate had to secure a minimum of 45 votes while for seats 3 and 4, a minimum of 29 or 30 votes each were needed.
In the assembly, the NC has 41 lawmakers, the Congress six, the Peoples Democratic Party three, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) one. There are seven independents and the BJP has 28 seats.
This means that the contest for the fourth seat was always going to be close.
Before the elections, the PDP had pledged support to the NC and there was speculation that a majority of the independents would back the ruling coalition. In the secret-ballot election, MLAs associated with parties need to show their voting slips to their respective party agents, but there is no such need for independents.
For the first seat, Ramzan, a four-time MLA from Handwara assembly constituency, received 58 votes and defeated the BJP’s Ali Mohammad.
For the second seat, Kichloo, a two-time lawmaker from Kishtwar assembly seat, also receibved 58 votes and defeated the BJP’s Rakesh Mahajan.
For the third seat, Oberoi, a longtime NC member who serves as its treasurer, defeated BJP’s Satpal Sharma and secured 31 votes.
But, Satpal Sharma managed to secure the fourth seat, winning 32 votes to Dar’s 22. It wasn’t clear where the BJP candidate had got the extra four votes from. “It was a clear reflection of the complete trust that both the people and their representatives have in BJP’s policies,” BJP spokesperson Balbir Ram Rattan said.
Celebrations erupted outside the J&K state assembly where NC workers and supporters shouted slogans in favour of the party candidates. In north Kashmir’s Handwara, festivities broke out in the town’s main square with people burning firecrackers on the win of Ramzan.
BJP workers also celebrated in Srinagar and organised a flag rally.
Sajad Lone, who abstained from voting, alleged that it was a fixed match.
“So BJP wins the fourth seat. As predicted, a fixed match. Axis of the evil. NC and BJP. Thank God I abstained. Imagine what my plight would have been. Now mathematically proved. That it was a fixed match. Why did NC poll extra votes for candidate 3? They didn’t need to. They polled 31 votes for candidate 3. Only 29 votes would have sufficed. Even 28. Because BJP was fighting for seat 4. Who cross voted? Whose votes were rejected? And who was hand in glove?” asked Lone.
Meanwhile, AAP’s Rajinder Gupta was elected unopposed to the Upper House from Punjab last week. The seat fell vacant after AAP’s Sanjeev Arora resigned following his victory in the 2024 assembly elections in Punjab.
