National Conference sweeps J&K's Rajya Sabha polls; wins 3 seats
What's the story
Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) leaders Sajad Kichloo, Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan and GS (Shammi) Oberoi have won the election to Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir. The last seat was won by BJP President Sat Paul Sharma. The four seats have been vacant since February 2021, when the tenure of former MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Nazir Ahmed Laway (PDP), Shamsher Singh (BJP), and Ghulam Nabi Azad (Congress) ended.
Election structure
Congress did not contest
The ruling National Conference fielded four candidates for all the seats, while the BJP contested three of the four seats. For the first time in J&K's electoral history, the Congress did not field a candidate because the NC refused to give up the first two "safe" seats and offered the fourth seat to the national party, which it called "unsafe."
Support
Congress, PDP support
Regardless, the Congress on Thursday said it will support the NC along with the People's Democratic Party (PDP). "Despite our grievances over how the NC has treated the Congress as an ally, we will not let that come in the way of a larger national cause," Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra said. Similarly, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said, "Although the NC has not been a trustworthy ally, we are supporting its candidate, Shammi Oberoi, for the third seat."
Seats
Current assembly seat strength at 88
The current Assembly strength is 88, with the NC having 41 members. The BJP has 28 members, Congress six, and the PDP three, while the People's Conference and AAP have one member each. AAP's lone MLA Mehraj Malik cast his vote through postal ballot, as he is currently in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA).