NC bags 3 Rajya Sabha seats, BJP 1

Srinagar, Oct 24: The ruling National Conference (NC) won three Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the fourth seat, elections for which were held at the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Secretariat here on Friday.

The NC had nominated Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, also known as Shammi Oberoi, and Imran Nabi Dar for the Upper House, while the BJP fielded Sat Sharma, Ali Muhammad Mir, and Rakesh Mahajan.

After the vote count, senior NC leader and former MLA from Handwara, Choudhary Ramzan, won the first seat.

Former minister and senior NC leader from the Chenab Valley, Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, was declared the winner of the second seat.

Shammi Oberoi clinched the third seat.

BJP’s J&K unit President, Sat Sharma, won the fourth seat, securing 31 votes, while NC candidate Imran Nabi Dar polled 21 votes.

In J&K, Rajya Sabha elections were held for the first time post-abrogation of Article 370.

The verdict for the fourth seat was not clear till evening, and both parties seemed confident about their win.

Legislators from Congress, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), CPI (M), and other independent MLAs had extended their support to the NC.

Three notifications were issued for the elections for the four seats of the Rajya Sabha.

Two separate notifications were issued for the first two seats, while the third notification was issued for the election of the third and fourth seats.

The total strength of votes was 88, of which People’s Conference (PC) President and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone had decided to abstain from voting, leaving the strength at 87.

As the voting was conducted through proportional representation and a single transferable vote, each candidate needed around 45 votes to secure a seat in a single-seat contest and around 29 votes per seat in a two-seat election – the 3rd and 4th seats.

While the result of the first three seats was already predicted, the announcement of the result for the fourth seat of the Rajya Sabha was a surprise as BJP candidate Sat Sharma secured 31 votes, while the BJP’s party strength was only 28.

Sat Sharma got four extra votes, which hinted at cross-voting by some MLAs.

As the 4th seat’s result created a political debate on social media, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on his X handle that NC votes remained intact across the elections for the four seats, “as witnessed by our election agent who saw each polling slip.”

“There was no cross-voting from any of our MLAs, so the questions arise – where did the 4 extra votes of the BJP come from? Who were the MLAs who deliberately invalidated their votes by marking the 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 own up to selling their souls!” CM Omar posted on X.

NC candidate for the 4th seat, Imran Nabi Dar, said that the BJP won the 4th seat by indulging in horse-trading.

“Our party won the first three seats smoothly, and as per the calculation, we were also winning the fourth seat. The support extended to us before voting was not visible during voting. Those who broke the promise of voting in our favour should come forward and reveal it openly,” Dar told media persons soon after the declaration of the result. “I welcome Sajad Lone’s decision, who publicly decided not to vote. But, for us, the decision of those who promised support and later did not turn up was surprising.”