SRINAGAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced its candidates for three of the four vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir, for which elections will be held on 24 October. Jammu and Kashmir BJP President Sat Pal Sharma is set to contest from a 'safe seat' where the party holds a numerical advantage.
Alongside Sharma, the party has nominated Ghulam Mohammad Mir and Rakesh Mahajan as candidates. While Sharma is contesting the seat where the BJP is expected to win, Mir and Mahajan will run from constituencies where the party lacks the numbers to secure a victory.
Sharma will contest under the third notification, which includes a combined election for the third and fourth seats.
In the 90-member J&K Assembly, the current strength stands at 88. The BJP holds 28 seats, while the ruling National Conference (NC)-led alliance commands a majority with the support of 53 members.
Under the third notification, the NC-Congress alliance is expected to secure one seat with 29 votes, while the BJP, with its 28 MLAs, is likely to clinch the other.
The role of smaller parties remains uncertain. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) holds three seats, the People's Conference has one, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has one MLA, who is currently in jail. The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), led by jailed MP Er Rashid, also has one member and has decided to field its own candidate instead of supporting the NC or abstaining, a move that could otherwise indirectly benefit the BJP.
The NC has announced Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Shammi Oberoi, and Sajad Ahmad Kichloo as its candidates for three seats, leaving one seat for the Congress. However, the Congress, with six MLAs, is in talks with the NC and is seeking a 'safe seat' for its nominee. It has yet to announce a candidate.
The upcoming Rajya Sabha election is being seen as a high-stakes contest for both the NC and the BJP, as each party seeks to bolster its influence in the Union Territory.
Voting will be held on 24 October between 9 am and 4 pm, with the counting of votes scheduled for the same day at 5 pm.
The four Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant in February 2021 after the terms ended for PDP MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Nazir Ahmed Laway, BJP MP Shamsher Singh, and former Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad.
These are the first Rajya Sabha elections in the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the former state into two Union Territories. The election for the 90-member J&K Assembly was held last year.
