Srinagar: With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deciding to field candidates for all the four Jammu and Kashmir Rajya Sabha seats, the focus has shifted on the National Conference and Congress alliance which is yet to decide on the distribution of seats.

The long overdue biennial elections are slated for October 24 to fill the vacancies that have been open since February 2021. The lack of electoral college due to lack of Jammu and Kashmir assembly since then could not fill the vacancies. It was following the maiden Union Territory assembly election 2024 that political parties were demanding the polls.

The four seats will be filled through three separate elections as required by law. This is because the seats were originally part of three different biennial cycles. Two members retired on February 15, 2021 while two others retired on February 10, 2021.

“We have decided to contest all seats. We are fielding three candidates,” said BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi after holding a key meeting on deciding about the candidates.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh and BJP general secretary and J&K in-charge Tarun Chugh among senior leaders were part of the huddle. “We have not discussed people or names today. We discussed what the situation demands and who can represent the people effectively in the Rajya Sabha,” Sethi said.

Three probable candidates from Jammu and one from Kashmir are expected in the BJP list. It was learnt that senior BJP leaders including Nirmal Singh and Ravinder Raina are the frontrunners for the polls. But the party will disclose the nominees once they get a nod from high command in New Delhi.

The BJP lacks open allies in the 90 member House but internal political discussions suggest they might woo small parties as they hold a decisive outcome on one seat. But leaders from these parties said their support is inconsequential for the results.
On the other hand, the major alliance partners NC and Congress are also yet to finalise on the distribution of seats between them. The Congress is vying for a single seat while the NC will file nominations for the rest.

NC chief spokesperson Tanviq Sadiq said that they will comfortably win three seats but will see whether to contest on the fourth seat. “We will see where (small) parties vote for the fourth seat. We expect them to vote for a secular candidate,” said Sadiq without disclosing if the party will approach them for their support.

NC provincial president Showkat Ahmad Mir said the party’s working committee has not met so far as there is time till nominations. He termed the reports of talks between his party and Congress as mere speculations at this stage. Reports had suggested that former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh will initiate talks with NC.

But a senior Congress leader based in New Delhi said they have not opened lines with the NC yet for the seat arrangement. This, according to him, is expected to happen after the return of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from abroad.