The political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir is heating up as nine candidates, including four from the National Conference (NC) and three from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), filed their nominations for four Rajya Sabha seats today. The nominations came before Returning Officer Manoj Pandita, Secretary of the Assembly.
In the first notification, two nominees emerged for a single seat: NC’s Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan and BJP’s Dr. Ali Muhammad Mir, along with independent candidate Prabhakar Dada. With the NC commanding an alliance of 53 MLAs, Ramzan appears well-positioned to secure this seat, potentially without Congress support. Meanwhile, the BJP, with 28 MLAs backing them, markets a hopeful stance.
For the second notification, NC’s Sajad Kichloo and BJP’s Rakesh Mahajan seek another single seat. Following the same voting dynamics from the first, Kichloo stands a good chance to win. The political observers see this race shaping up favorably for the NC.
The third notification concerns two seats with candidates including NC’s Gurwinder Singh Oberoi (alias Shammi Oberoi) and Imran Dar, as well as BJP’s Sat Pal Sharma and independent candidate Kante Sayanna. According to anticipations, the two highest vote-getters will gain these seats. The NC is expected to secure 29 votes for Oberoi and allocate 24 to Dar, while the BJP is likely to gather all 28 votes for Sharma.
Post-nomination, BJP’s Rakesh Mahajan expressed gratitude towards the party leadership and buoyed optimism regarding the electoral outcome. “I am thankful to the national leadership for this honour. I am sure we will win all three seats,” he stated, adding that the BJP provides equal opportunities to every worker.
BJP president Sat Sharma, simultaneously contesting, criticized the NC, vowing determination and commitment. “We will fight with all our strength and script history. We aim to win more than one seat this time,” Sharma claimed.
Dr. Ali Muhammad Mir also weighed in, sharing his feelings of honor regarding the nomination. “Entire Kashmir is happy. I thank the central leadership for considering me competent for this responsibility,” he stated with conviction.
On the other side, NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq confirmed a successful nomination process and expressed confidence in winning all four seats. “However, it is unfortunate that Congress did not agree to what was offered. I urge all secular forces to support our candidates,” he commented.
Senior NC figure Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan proclaimed his commitment to address developmental and political issues in Parliament. “We will come up to people’s expectations. There are a number of issues — developmental and political — that must be addressed, and we will talk about them,” he emphasized.
The elections for these crucial Rajya Sabha seats are set to unfold later this month, marking a significant event in Jammu and Kashmir’s political journey.
