Voting for 4 Rajya Sabha seats today, Congress, PDP back NC candidates

The elections to the four Rajya Sabha (RS) seats in Jammu and Kashmir would be held on Friday, the maiden polls since the abrogation of special status and downgrading of the erstwhile state into a Union Territory.

The National Conference (NC) on Thursday issued a whip to its Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) asking them to remain present in the Assembly and vote in favour of the party candidates. The NC chief whip, Mubarak Gul, issued orders to party MLAs, directing them to refrain from abstaining, remaining absent or voting contrary to the directions of the party.

Political observers believe that the NC is likely to win three seats, while the BJP will possibly get one seat. The NC has named candidates on all four seats, while the BJP has named three candidates for the RS polls.

The NC candidates include Chowdry Mohammed Ramzan, Sajjad Kitchloo, Shammi Oberoi and Imran Nabi Dar, while the BJP candidates include Ali Mohammed Mir, Rakesh Mahajan and Sat Sharma. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced that it would support the NC in the elections.

Announcing the party’s strategy for the Rajya Sabha polls, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti in a press briefing said, “To safeguard J&K’s rights and strengthen the INDIA alliance, we’ll vote for the NC in the Rajya Sabha polls. We’ll vote for their candidate Shammi Oberoi on the third RS seat, but not for the fourth, else if they’ll lose the seat, the NC will conveniently blame the PDP. We also trust that the NC will stay true to the promise given by Farooq Sahib to pass PDP’s Land Rights and Daily Wagers Bills.”

The NC has 41 MLAs in the Assembly and is backed by three PDP MLAs, a lone CPI MLA along with some independents. On the other hand the BJP has 28 MLAs. The total strength in the J&K Assembly of 90 members is 88 at present.

NC president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday told media that the Congress would support his party in the Rajya Sabha elections. The four Rajya Sabha seats had been lying vacant since 2021.

While briefing the media, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra, said his party had decided to offer support to the National Conference in the Rajya Sabha polls. “Having taken into account our sensitivities as a suffering state as also a tested voice for the diverse and steadfast secular India, we keep all differences with the NC on the back burner only to prove our commitment to our own ethos,” Karra said.

He said, “During the 2024 elections, we chose unity over division, ignoring all dissenting voices, to defeat the BJP and free the people of J&K from strangulating fear. In keeping with our political culture and moral uprightness, we chose not to be expedient.”

“The Rajya Sabha polls this time have come as a challenge. We wish that the NC keeps its flock together against all temptations and manipulations for which we offer our support. It is because of the larger cause — our fight with the BJP at the national level — that we ignore to be guided by the treatment that we have been meted out by the NC as an alliance. Though our strength may or may not be major by magical numbers, we offer our six votes as open support to the NC candidates,” Karra said.