Most of the 28 MLAs of the BJP accompanied party candidate Sat Sharma to the Legislative Assembly complex at Srinagar when he went there to file his nomination papers for the coming Rajya Sabha elections. MoS in PMO Dr Jitendra Singh had arrived in Srinagar early on morning of October 13 to accompany Sharma to the assembly complex. Ghulam Ali Khatana, BJP’s lone Rajya Sabha member from Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir, party workers from Kashmir were also there.
Besides Sharma, two more BJP nominees, Ali Mohammad Mir and Rakesh Mahajan, also filed their nomination papers before Secretary of the Assembly Manoj Kumar Pandita who is returning officer for these elections scheduled to be held on October 24. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party believes that its all three candidates will win the Rajya Sabha polls.
Speaking with reporters, Dr Singh said that the BJP believes in democracy and follows democratic means. “There is no question of cross voting and other related things. Our candidates will emerge victorious in the Rajya Sabha election,” he said. He also that the party MLAs listen to the voice of their conscience, it will repeatedly tell them that Jammu and Kashmir’s future is safe in the hands of PM Modi. The Union Minister, along with other leaders, was accompanying BJP candidates to Assembly complex to submit their nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Echoing Dr Singh, senior BJP leader and Padder-Nagseni MLA Sunil Sharma said his party has fielded three candidates though there are four seats at stake. “We will do whatever it takes to ensure that all our candidates are victorious,’’ Sharma said.
In the present 90-member Legislative Assembly, presently the effective strength is 88 as two seats, one from Budgam and Nagrota in Jammu district, are lying vacant. The by-elections for these two assembly seats are to be held in November. As such, those who get elected are going to miss this chance to vote for the Rajya Sabha this time.
The Election Commission of India has issued three different notifications for the four Rajya Sabha seats in J&K. It will hold elections separately for two seats and the ruling National Conference (NC) nominees who fill forms against these notifications are clear winners. The polls for the other two seats are being held under a common notification. One of these seats is likely to be bagged by the BJP which has 28 legislators and its nominee Sat Sharma is likely to emerge winner.
Meanwhile, the three nominees National Conference (NC) has chosen for contesting three seats are Sajjad Kichloo from Kishtwar, Shammi Oberoi, a Sikh from Srinagar and Ramzan Chaudhary, from Kupwara. All three are likely to win the respective seats against whom they have filed nominations. It is not clear whether the NC will put up a symbolic fight for the 4th seat also and ask some candidate to file his/her name.
The NC had left this fourth seat, possibly for its alliance partner, the Congress, which has six MLAs in the Assembly. However, the Congress has decided not to contest after its demand for one of the safe seats was turned down by the senior alliance partner. For some time at least, this may cause bad blood between the NC and the Congress.
The NC has 42 MLAs and enjoys the support of many independents like Satish Sharma of Chhamb, Akram Choudhary of Surankote, independent from Inderwal, and CPM member Yusuf Tarigami. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) headed by Mehbooba Mufti with only three MLAs does not have any stakes in the Rajya Sabha elections. Its MLAs may participate in the whole process just to mark their presence as their votes are not likely to impact the results in any way. People’s Conference (PC) MLA Sajjad Lone and a couple of other MLAs like him are of no consequence in this election.
