Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 28: Former State BJP president Shamsher Singh Manhas and PDP leader Mir Mohammad Fayaz were today virtually through to the Rajya Sabha as they would only face symbolic fight from two National Conference candidates in February 7 election as they filed nominations against Notification Nos. 1 and 2 on which elections would be held for one seat each out of a total of four seats.
However, there would be fight for two seats among three candidates for Rajya Sabha berth including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and NC-Congress joint nominee Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chander Mohan Sharma (BJP) and Nazir Ahmad Laway (PDP).
Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha elections, Mohammad Ramzan, who also happens to be the Secretary Legislative Assembly, told the Excelsior that only seven candidates filed their nomination papers for four Rajya Sabha seats today, the last date for filing of nomination papers. No nominations had been filed earlier. He said scrutiny of nomination papers will take place at 11 am tomorrow while January 31 is last date for withdrawal of nominations.
Election will be held on February 7. All 87 newly elected MLAs comprised electoral college for the Rajya Sabha elections, the polling for which will be held from 10 am to 4 pm on February 7 while counting will take place the same day from 5 pm onwards and results declared by about 7 pm.
As reported exclusively by the Excelsior earlier, the PDP and BJP shared one safe seat each against Notification Nos. 1 and 2 and put up one candidate each on two seats against Notification No. 3, where there would be tough contest and out of three candidates in fray, one prominent candidate of any party—PDP, BJP and Congress would lose.
Official sources told the Excelsior that PDP candidate Mir Mohammad Fayaz and NC candidate and former Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo will be involved in direct contest for one Rajya Sabha seat against Notification No. 1 while Shamsher Singh Manhas (BJP), former State party president and Nasir Aslam Wani (NC), party’s provincial president for Kashmir and former Minister of State for Home will also be involved in one-to-one fight for second seat of Rajya Sabha against Notification No. 2
Ghulam Nabi Azad (Congress), Chander Mohan Sharma (BJP), vice president of the party and Nazir Ahmad Laway (PDP) would fight for two seats of Rajya Sabha against Notification No. 3.
Sources said Mir Mohammad Fayaz of PDP and Shamsher Singh of BJP will be easily through to the Rajya Sabha as PDP-BJP combine has 53 MLAs on their own apart from the support of Independents and Others while NC-Congress have support of 27 MLAs only. Both seats against Notification Nos. 1 and 2 would be won by the PDP and BJP very easily. However, by fielding candidates on the two seats, the NC-Congress alliance would ensure that the seats didn’t go uncontested to the PDP and BJP.
However, the one seat on which NC and Congress would give tough fight to the PDP-BJP combine falls in Notification No. 3 on which election will be held for two seats, where Independents and Others would hold key.
Sources said the PDP-BJP combine have confirmed support of 56 MLAs (PDP 28, BJP 25, People’s Conference 2 and Independent Pawan Gupta) while NC-Congress has confirmed support of 27 MLAs (NC 15 and Congress 12).
The 56 confirmed PDP-BJP votes would make it 28 each for Chander Mohan Sharma and Nazir Ahmad Laway while Azad would get 27. Now, the key would be held by Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami (CPM), Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Engineer Abdul Rashid and Bakir Hussain Rizvi, whose votes would be crucial for PDP-BJP as well as Ghulam Nabi Azad.
“If PDP-BJP managed support of three out of four undecided MLAs, their both candidates will sail through to the Rajya Sabha but if Azad could win over three MLAs other than 27 of NC and Congress, he would wrest one seat from PDP and BJP,’’ sources said, adding that PDP-BJP leaders were in touch with all Independent and Others to ensure victory of their all four candidates just like NC and Congress had done in 2009 elections.
NC and Congress had four seats in the Rajya Sabha and they could at the best win only one seat and that too if they mustered support of three more MLAs now. In 2009, NC candidates Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mohammad Shafi Uri and Congress nominees—Ghulam Nabi Azad and Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz had been elected for Rajya Sabha. Later, Dr Abdullah had quit his Rajya Sabha membership after being elected to Lok Sabha. In his place, NC leader Ghulam Nabi Ratanpuri was elected to Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav presided over a meeting of all 25 MLAs of the BJP here this afternoon to devise strategy to ensure victory of all four PDP-BJP candidates as BJP desperately needs to increase the tally of its own as well as its allies in the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA was still in minority.
Madhav called upon the party MLAs to try to win over as many Independent candidates as possible to ensure victory of all four PDP-BJP candidates for Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, on the directions of the BJP National President, Amit Shah, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh will be arriving in Jammu tomorrow morning to hold one-to-one consultations in the run-up to the Rajya Sabha elections from the State.
The Party’s Central High Command has deputed Dr. Jitendra Singh to gather an on-the-spot assessment of the ground situation and evolve appropriate strategy to ensure positive results for BJP in the Polls for Rajya Sabha seats.
Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination papers, Azad said the NC and Congress ideology and legacy were same and there was nothing unholy in their alliance.
“The NC-Congress alliance dated back to Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah,’’ Azad, who was accompanied by PCC (I) chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz during filing of nomination papers, said.
He hoped that he would win the seat easily with the support of NC and Independent MLAs.
To a question, he described the statement of United States President Barack Obama on religion as ‘master stroke’ and ‘sixer’
“Obama has showed that he can’t be dictated,’’ he said.
On differences between NC and Congress during Assembly elections, Azad said there can be difference of opinion on some occasions.
Speaking to reporters, PDP spokesman Naeem Akhter expressed confidence that all four candidates of PDP-BJP will win the Rajya Sabha elections. Senior PDP leaders including Tariq Hamid Qarra, MP and Abdul Rehman Veeri besides several other MLAs and senior leaders accompanied the party leaders in filing nomination papers of the Rajya Sabha.
NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana, who accompanied the two NC candidates during filing of nomination papers, said the NC and Congress formed the alliance to defeat the candidates of unholy alliance and ensure contest on all four seats.
To a question, Rana said any alliance that is good for the people is holy while any alliance which is bad for the people is unholy.
All 25 newly BJP MLAs accompanied the two BJP candidates in filing the nomination papers.
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