Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 18: Eight Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) including a Minister and an Advisor were completing their term early next year and elections to the vacancies could be held during budget session of the Legislature in March. Six posts of the MLCs were already lying vacant in the Upper House, which had total strength of 36.
Of eight members of the Upper House retiring in next few months, four belonged to Congress and two each to National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Official sources told the Excelsior that Medical Education Minister RS Chib (Congress) and Political Advisor to Chief Minister Devender Singh Rana (National Conference) were among eight MLCs, who would complete their six years term in the Legislative Council early next year.
Six other members of the Upper House, who were completing their term in March-April next year, included Mohammad Yusuf Taing (National Conference), Mohammad Amin Bhat, Ali Mohammad Bhat and Naresh Gupta (all from Congress), Nizam-ud-Din Khatana and Murtaza Khan (both from PDP).
Naresh Gupta had been elected against a seat reserved for Doda district. He was elected to the Upper House after Mohammad Sharief Niaz won the Assembly by-poll from Bhaderwah segment, which was vacated by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad on being elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Mr Gupta got only remaining period of the term of Mr Niaz i.e. about four years. Rest all MLCs, who were completing their term early next year, got six years in the Upper House.
Mr Chib is the only MLC in 22 members Council of Ministry headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Rest all 21 Ministers were MLAs.
Legislative Council Chairman, Amrit Malhotra confirmed that eight MLCs would be completing their term early next year and the vacancies had to be filled in February-March, 2013. In addition, he said, there were six other vacancies in the Upper House-four belonging to Panchayat quota and two to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
The Election Commission could hold elections for eight vacancies arising in the Upper House early next year. The election process had to be set in motion either by the end of January or the start of February so that it was completed in March.
Going by the composition of the Assembly, the major opposition party, the PDP would be in a position to get one of its members elected early from four seats of Kashmir region. However, it could be a tough call for the party to get its member elected from Jammu region, where election would be held for three seats only. A separate election would be held for the seat reserved for Doda, which the coalition would capture.
Sources said the role of seven BJP rebel MLAs would also be crucial.
Presently, there were only five members from the opposition in the Upper House including four from PDP and one from NPP. Rest all belonged to National Conference-Congress coalition.
Meanwhile, six vacancies in the Legislative Council were expected to remain unfulfilled for more time as the Election Commission has raised some objections to criteria mooted by the State Election Department for holding elections to four MLCs to be elected by the Panchayat members-two each from Jammu and Kashmir divisions.
Two vacancies from Urban Local Bodies also remained unfulfilled as the Government has failed to hold elections to the Municipalities, whose term had expired in March 2010.
There are a total of 36 seats in the Upper House. However, present strength of the House was 30 as six seats, four reserved for Panchayats and two for ULBs were vacant.
It was in 1974 that four seats reserved for Panchayats in the Upper House were filled after the elections. After that the seats remained vacant as complete elections to Panchayats were never held. It was in September 2011 that election process for Panchayats was completed after being set into motion in April last year.
Strength of the House prior to 2005 remained confined to 30 as four seats reserved for Panchayats and two for Municipalities (Urban Local Bodies) couldn’t be filled in the absence of elections to both Urban and Rural Local Bodies.
However, two seats of Urban Local bodies were filled in October 2005 as ULB elections were held in January 2005 after a gap of 26 years. PDP’s Nizam-ud-Din Bhat was elected from a seat reserved for Kashmir from the ULBs while former Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council and senior Congress leader, Arvinder Singh Micky was elected from Jammu region.
Both these seats have also fallen vacant as Mr Bhat quit membership of the Upper House in 2009 after his election to the Legislative Assembly while Micky’s term expired on September 15 last year.
Elections to the Municipal Corporations and Committees were not held despite being due in January-February 2010.
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