J&K to Hold First Rajya Sabha Polls Since UT Status; NC and BJP in Key Contests.
Jammu and Kashmir is set to hold its first Rajya Sabha elections since being reconstituted as a Union Territory, with four seats up for grabs on Friday. Political analysts expect the ruling National Conference (NC) to secure three seats and the BJP one, provided party strategies hold.
The elections have been issued in three notifications. In the first, NC’s Chowdhury Mohammed Ramzan faces BJP’s Ali Mohammed Mir. The second seat sees NC’s Sajjad Kitchloo contesting BJP’s Rakesh Mahajan. The third notification involves two seats, with NC nominating party treasurer G.S. Oberoi (Shammi Oberoi) and Imran Nabi Dar against BJP’s Sat Sharma.
The NC has issued a whip to all its MLAs to ensure votes for party candidates. With 41 NC MLAs, six Congress and one CPM support, plus six Independents, the party appears poised to win three seats comfortably. The fourth seat, however, is highly competitive. The NC-led coalition holds 54 of the 88 Assembly seats, while the BJP has 28.
BJP’s Sat Sharma benefits from the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) abstaining from the polls, giving him a strategic advantage. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed confidence that NC would win all four seats, emphasizing the importance of securing non-BJP votes.
Congress legislators skipped a key meeting with allies on Wednesday, but Abdullah downplayed their absence, stating that Congress follows its own procedures and will neither support the BJP nor allow it to win. He also thanked CPM leader M.Y. Tarigami and Independents for attending the meeting and expressed hope for NC candidates across all four seats.
Abdullah confirmed that while PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has not officially announced support, she has assured discussions with her party colleagues to make “the right decision.”
Jammu and Kashmir had remained unrepresented in the Rajya Sabha since February 2021, after the terms of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Nazir Ahmed Laway, Fayaz Ahmed Mir, and Shamsheer Singh Manhas ended.
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