In Jammu and Kashmir, political leaders are lining up their plans for the October 24 Rajya Sabha elections. The upcoming vote will decide four members for the Union Territory’s seat in India’s upper house, a position that has been empty since February 2021 when long‑serving MPs Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh and Nazir Ahmed Lawy retired.
Congress eyes its next step
Tariq Hameed Karra, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, told reporters on Sunday that the party will share its discussion with the central Congress leadership and the National Conference with his core committee. “We will discuss what happened between the central leadership and the National Conference and then seek our core committee’s opinion on the next course of action,” Karra said.
The Congress hasn’t yet announced who will run for the Rajya Sabha seats. Investors in the party say the decisions will be announced soon.
National Conference names three candidates
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) announced its nominees for three of the four seats on Friday. The party will send the following names to the election: Chowdry Mohamad Ramzan, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo and Shammi Oberoi. The fourth seat’s nominee is still under consideration, and the party expects a decision within 24‑48 hours.
JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah is not standing for the Rajya Sabha. “He feels his role is needed more in Jammu and Kashmir at the moment,” said chief minister advisor Nasir Aslam Wani. “We believe his experience and guidance can be better used here.”
BJP releases its three contenders
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also revealed its slate of candidates for the vacant seats earlier on Sunday. BJP will field Gulam Mohammad Mir, Rakesh Mahajan and Sat Paul Sharma.
- Sat Paul Sharma – Serving his second term as the BJP Jammu and Kashmir state president, Sharma previously held the position from 2015 to 2018 and served in Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s cabinet in 2018.
- Rakesh Mahajan – The current vice‑president of the state BJP unit.
- Gulam Mohammad Mir – A former BJP candidate from the Handwara assembly constituency in last year’s elections, Mir lost to National Conference’s Sajjad Gani Lone.
When and why it matters
The four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir will be filled on October 24. The election is a key indicator of how the Union Territory will be represented in national politics, especially as the region remains politically sensitive. The wings of the Congress, the National Conference, and the BJP are all assembling their teams, hoping to secure a foothold in the upper house of Parliament.
With voters and political players on the brink of a vote, the coming weeks will reveal which party can secure the most influential seats in India’s upper house and shape Jammu and Kashmir’s future political landscape.
Source: aninews
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