National Conference leaders Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan and Sajad Kichloo won early victories in the first Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370, with Ramzan receiving 58 votes, according to details received by The Chenab Times.
The elections took place on Friday at the Srinagar Legislative Assembly complex. Of the 88 members, 86 MLAs cast votes, including detained AAP MLA Mehraj Malik through a postal ballot.
The National Conference-led alliance, supported by Congress, PDP, CPI(M), AIP, and six Independents, secured a clear majority. This ensured wins for Ramzan and Kichloo, strengthening the NC’s position in the 88-member Assembly.
Two seats remain contested. The third seat pits NC’s Shami Oberoi against another candidate, with counting ongoing. The fourth seat features NC’s Imran Nabi Dar against BJP’s Satpal Sharma.
The NC expressed confidence in winning all four seats, viewing the results as evidence of trust in post-Article 370 stability and the alliance’s strength in the Union Territory.
The seats became vacant in February 2021 after the terms ended for PDP MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Nazir Ahmed Laway, BJP MP Shamsher Singh, and former Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad. The NC fielded four candidates—Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Shami Oberoi, Sajad Kichloo, and Imran Nabi Dar—while the BJP nominated three.
Support from Congress and PDP, announced a day before polling, bolstered the NC’s prospects against the BJP. Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra said, “Keeping in view the larger cause and our fight with the BJP at the national level, we have decided not to be guided by the treatment meted out to us by the NC as an ally. We offer our six votes as open support to the NC for the larger cause.”
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The Chenab Times News Desk
