CM Omar blames MLAs Outside his party for loss of 4th Seat
Srinagar : The National Conference (NC) today won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats but fell short of a clean sweep as BJP clinched the fourth seat.
This was the first Rajya Sabha poll since the abrogation of Article 370 and downgrading of the erstwhile state into a union Territory in 2019.
Jammu and Kashmir’s four Rajya Sabha seats had been vacant since February 2021, when the terms of Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmad Laway ended on February 15, and those of Fayaz Ahmad Mir and Shamsher Singh Manhas expired on February 10, that year.
The three NC candidates who won are former Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, former Minister of State, Sajjad Kitchloo and Gurwinder Singh, also known as Shammi Oberoi. BJP’s J&K president Sat Sharma won the fourth seat.
The 32 votes to the BJP J&K president hint that at least four members have cross voted for the party, as it has only 28 members strength in the House.
Announcing the results, Returning Officer Manoj Pandita said the polling was conducted under the proportional representation system by means of a single transferable vote.
“For Notification Number 1, the total number of electors was 88, out of which 87 cast their votes,” Pandita said while declaring the results. “The total number of valid votes polled was 86, with one invalid or rejected vote. The quota fixed for the election was 44.”
Chaudhary Ramzan of the NC secured 58 votes, while Ali Mohammad Mir of BJP polled 28 votes. “Since Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan crossed the quota of 44, he was declared elected,” he announced.
Under Notification Number 2, Pandita said 87 votes were cast, of which 85 were valid and two invalid. “The quota fixed for this election was 43. Rakesh Kumar of BJP secured 29 votes, while Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo of the National Conference bagged 56 votes. Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo was declared elected.”
For Notification Number 3, a total of 87 votes were cast, with 84 valid and three invalid.
“The quota fixed for the election was 28.01,” Pandita said. “Satpal Sharma of BJP secured 32 votes, Imran Nabi Dar of the National Conference got 21 votes, and Gurvinder Singh Oberoi of NC secured 31 votes. Satpal Sharma and Gurvinder Singh Oberoi have been declared elected.”
The NC had received a significant boost in the run-up to the polls as the Congress and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had agreed to support the party’s four candidates, despite lingering grievances over the NC’s recent political conduct.
After the loss of the fourth seat, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah blamed some legislators outside his party.
“All of JKNC votes remained intact across the four elections, as witnessed by our election agent who saw each polling slip. There was no cross voting from any of our MLAs, so the questions arises – where did the 4 extra votes of the BJP come from? Who were the MLAs who deliberately invalidated their votes by marking a wrong preference number while voting? Do they have the guts to put their hands up and own up to helping the BJP after promising us their votes? What pressure or inducement helped them make this choice? Let’s see if any of the BJP’s secret team owns up to selling their souls!,” Omar wrote on X.
Peoples Conference chairman and MLA Sajad Lone, who was the only lawmaker to abstain from today’s voting, accused both NC and BJP of orchestrating what he called a “fixed match”.
On X, he pointed out that NC had polled 31 votes for a candidate who only needed 28–29, suggesting a tactical move to secure BJP’s victory for the fourth seat.
Between 1952 and 2021, 37 individuals (all males) represented J & K in the council of states. Over 70% of these members were from the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and the India National Congress.
According to PRS Legislative Research, an independent think tank, most of these individuals served only one term in Rajya Sabha.
Azad has been the longest serving member (five terms, 1996-2021) in Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir. Tirath Ram Amla served four terms followed by Saif-ud-Din Soz and Om Mehta, who completed three terms. No women have ever been elected to Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, PRS Legislative Research said.
