नवीनतम
J&K voting underway for Rajya Sabha seats
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Voting was underway on Friday for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
This is the first Rajya Sabha election from Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and downgrading and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J-K into two Union territories on August 5, 2019.
Voting is being held inside the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly complex here, officials said.
The last Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in February 2015, when four members, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Nazir Ahmad Laway, late Shamsher Singh Manhas, and Fayaz Ahmad Mir, were elected during the PDP-BJP coalition government. The state's special status was abrogated in August 2019, and the four Rajya Sabha members completed their terms by February 2021. With no elected Assembly in place to form the electoral college, all four seats fell vacant, leaving Jammu and Kashmir without any representation in the Upper House of Parliament for the first time since 1952.
According to the latest political arithmetic, the National Conference (NC) is set to secure a comfortable victory on three of the four seats, buoyed by support from the Congress, PDP, and independent legislators. The NC-led INDIA bloc commands 57 MLAs in the 90-member House, including 41 from NC, six from Congress, six independents, three from the PDP, and one CPI(M) MLA, giving it a clear edge over the BJP's 28 MLAs.
But all eyes are on the fourth seat, where the contest is expected to be razor-thin. The BJP's strength has been offset by the backing extended to the NC candidates by smaller parties and independents, making the outcome of the last seat uncertain.
Two NC candidates, Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan and Sajjad Kichloo, are virtually assured of victory on the first two seats, each projected to win with 57 votes against the BJP's 28. However, the third and fourth seats, for which a combined election is being held, will see a tight triangular battle among Gurwinder Singh Oberoi (NC), Imran Dar (NC), and Sat Sharma (BJP).
In this phase, the two candidates securing the highest votes will be declared winners. The NC is expected to divide its votes almost evenly, 29 for Oberoi and 28 for Dar, while the BJP's 28 MLAs are backing Sat Sharma. The final outcome may hinge on the choices of seven independents in the House. Interestingly, it's not mandatory for independent MLAs to show their marked ballots to polling agents. This has heightened speculation over which way the independents, particularly those aligned loosely with regional parties, will swing in the final count.
Adding intrigue to the day's voting, one MLA, Mehraj Malik, currently detained under the Public Safety Act, cast his vote on Monday from Kathua district jail after special arrangements were made by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
