E-Paper
Omar Abdullah's NC sweeps three Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP secures one
Senior JKNC leader Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, winning by 58 votes.
The ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) secured three Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won just one seat.
Senior JKNC leader Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, winning by 58 votes. Fellow party members Sajad Kichloo and Shammi Oberoi were also declared winners.
In a post on X, the National Conference said, "JKNC senior leader Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu Kashmir, winning by 58 votes. Congratulations!"
BJP wins one seat
Jammu and Kashmir BJP President Sat Paul Sharma won the remaining seat with 32 votes, defeating NC candidate Imran Nissar, who secured 22 votes.
The win came after all four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir had been vacant since February 2021, following the retirement of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh, and Nazir Ahmed Laway.
Bypolls for the Nagrota and Budgam assembly constituencies are scheduled for November 11, following the demise of MLA Devender Singh Rana and the resignation of Omar Abdullah, respectively.
CM confident of Congress support
Earlier on October 22, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed confidence in securing backing from the Congress for victory in all four Rajya Sabha seats.
He said, "This session is different from other sessions. Rajya Sabha elections will be held after 10 years in Jammu and Kashmir. We decided on a strategy in the meeting so that the National Conference wins all four seats. I thank Tarigami and other independent leaders, who joined the meeting," reported news agency ANI.
On Congress holding a separate meeting, he added, "They had their own meeting. They have reiterated that they would not support the BJP. They have their own way; their leadership here has to wait for the high command's signal. This is not new, and no one should have a problem with it. Their high command would not signal to favour the BJP."
