National Conference candidates Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Sajad Kichloo, and Shammi Oberoi won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while BJP’s Satpal Sharma secured the remaining seat in the first such elections since the abrogation of Article 370, according to details received by The Chenab Times.
The polls took place on Friday at the Srinagar Legislative Assembly complex. Of the 88 members, 86 MLAs cast votes, with detained AAP MLA Mehraj Malik voting via postal ballot and Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Lone abstaining. The NC-led alliance, supported by Congress, PDP, CPI(M), AIP, and six Independents, held 57 votes against BJP’s 28, ensuring victories for its nominees.
Ramzan received 58 votes in the first round. Kichloo won in the second, Oberoi in the third, and Sharma took the fourth with 32 votes. The Election Commission organized the elections through three notifications, with two seats contested individually and two combined.
The seats fell vacant in February 2021 after terms ended for PDP MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Nazir Ahmed Laway, BJP MP Shamsher Singh Manhas, and former Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad. NC fielded Ramzan, Kichloo, Oberoi, and Imran Nabi Dar; BJP nominated Sharma, Ghulam Mohammad Mir, and Rakesh Mahajan.
Support from allies bolstered NC’s position. 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,” as reported by Hindustan Times.
NC workers celebrated the wins, viewing them as a sign of trust in post-Article 370 stability. The Union Territory had been unrepresented in the Rajya Sabha for over four years.
The Chenab Times News Desk