J&K RS polls: NC bags three, BJP wins one seat amid cross-voting

National Conference wins 3, BJP secures one seat in first Rajya Sabha poll since Article 370 abrogation in Jammu and Kashmir. The polling was held in the Assembly on Friday.MLAs cast their votes at three separate polling booths in the Legislative Assembly complex between 9 am and 4 pm. Of the 90-member J&K Assembly, the current strength is 88. While 86 MLAs voted, Peoples Conference chairman and MLA Sajad Gani Lone abstained, and AAP MLA from Doda Mehraj Malik, booked under the PSA and lodged at Kathua jail, cast his vote through postal ballot.

The NC had fielded four candidates - Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Shammi Oberoi, Sajad Kichloo and Imran Nabi Dar - for the four seats, while the BJP fielded Ali Mohammed Mir, Rakesh Mahajan and J&K BJP chief Sat Sharma for three seats. The NC, which was assured of three seats, secured those, while BJP’s Sat Sharma won the fourth seat, which witnessed cross-voting. Against 28 BJP votes, Sharma received additional votes, surpassing NC candidate Imran Nabi Dar to clinch the seat.The BJP’s tally suggested it gained four extra votes, likely from Independents.

According to the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly M K Pandita, who served as the Returning Officer, National Conference candidate Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan defeated BJP’s Ali Mohammad Mir in the first seat, securing 58 of the 87 votes polled, while the BJP managed 28. One vote was declared invalid. In the second contest, National Conference’s Sajad Kichloo triumphed over BJP nominee Rakesh Mahajan, polling 57 votes against Mahajan’s 29, with two votes rejected.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had extended support to Omar Abdullah’s party “to keep the BJP away.” Three polling booths were set up within the Assembly premises, and by noon, over 70 MLAs, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, had cast their votes. Polling concluded at 4 pm and counting began soon after, with results announced by late evening.

These seats had fallen vacant in February 2021 following the completion of terms of PDP MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Nazir Ahmed Laway, BJP MP Shamsher Singh, and former Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad. Reacting to the BJP’s victory, Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone, who abstained from voting, posted on X, “So BJP wins the fourth seat. As predicted, fixed match. Axis of the evil — NC and BJP. Thank God I abstained.Lone also alleged that under an understanding with the BJP, the NC had denied a safe seat to its ally, the Congress.