Two elections for one seat each, another for two
NC-led alliance set to get 3, BJP one
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 24: Nearly a year after the completion of Assembly elections and formation of Omar Abdullah-led Government in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission of India (ECI) today announced elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from the Union Territory on October 24, nearly four and half years after the seats fell vacant following completion of term of the members.
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An official statement issued by the ECI said the elections will be held as per the past practices i.e. three separate elections will be held for four seats. One election will be held for the member who retired on 10.02.2021, another election for the member who also retired on 10.02.2021 and third election for two members who completed their term on 15.02.2021.
This way the National Conference-led alliance which has the support of nearly 53 MLAs including 41 from NC, seven Congress, four Independents and one from CPM will easily get three seats leaving the Opposition BJP with one. Two seats on which two separate elections will be held will easily go to the Alliance while two seats on which one election will be held will be shared by the Alliance and BJP.
All four newly elected members will have full term of six years.
Elections to four Rajya Sabha seats were pending for a year and 10 months. Last Rajya Sabha elections were held in February 2015 and all four members including two from PDP and one each from BJP and Congress completed their six-year term in February 2021. Initially, the elections couldn’t be held in absence of the Legislature. While Assembly election process was completed and the Government was in place in October, 2024, the elections were delayed for a year for some reasons.
While announcing the schedule, the EC said that the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir (with Legislature) and Ladakh (without Legislature).
As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, four sitting members of the Rajya Sabha representing the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir will be deemed to have been elected to fill the seats allocated to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
All four seats were lying vacant since the expiration of the term of the sitting members due to the non-availability of the required electorate to conduct the elections at the time of occurrence of the vacancies.
After the constitution of the Legislative Assembly of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, there is a required electorate to conduct the Biennial Elections, it noted.
Notification for the elections will be issued on October 6 while the candidates can file their nomination papers till October 13. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 14. Candidates can withdraw their nomination papers on October 16. Polling will take place on October 24 from 9 am to 4 pm while counting will take place the same day at 5 PM. Entire election process will be completed before October 28.
Four MPs were elected to the Rajya Sabha in February 2015 when the last elections were held to the House of Elders from Jammu and Kashmir. They included then Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad (now DPAP chairman), Shamsher Singh Manhas (BJP), who has since passed away; and Nazir Ahmed Laway and Mir Mohammad Fayaz (both from PDP). Fayaz is the sitting PDP MLA.
While the NC-led alliance has 53 members, the BJP has 28.
J&K Assembly has strength of 90 elected MLAs plus five nominated. Five MLAs haven’t been nominated so far while two seats are vacant leaving strength of the Assembly to 88, who will be eligible for voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah quit Budgam seat while retaining Ganderbal after winning from both constituencies while BJP stalwart Devender Singh Rana passed away within day after his re-election from Nagrota.
Besides NC-led alliance’s 53 seats and BJP’s 28, six MLAs from smaller Kashmir-based parties and independents form a non-BJP opposition bloc in the House. These members maintain a neutral stance, distancing themselves from both the treasury benches and the BJP. This group includes three MLAs from the PDP, one from the People’s Conference and two independents-Shabir Kullay (MLA Shopian) and Sheikh Khursheed, who is considered independent as his party is not registered with the Election Commission of India. With Mehraj Malik added to this bloc, the total rises to seven.
The NC-led alliance is projected to secure 29 first-preference votes for the third seat, leaving it with 24 second-preference votes for the fourth seat. The BJP, with 28 votes, is favored to win the fourth seat.
The six MLAs from PDP, PC, and independents are expected to play a minimal role in the elections. They have been vocal critics of both NC and BJP.
Mehraj Malik, who is in detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), is eligible to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, does not bar a person from voting if they are under preventive detention. It only prohibits voting by individuals confined in prison or in lawful police custody-whether serving a sentence or otherwise.
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