Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 14: As there is no provision in Jammu and Kashmir for retirement of one-third members of the Rajya Sabha after every two years, the Election Commission of India will be issuing three separate notifications to hold three elections for four vacancies of Rajya Sabha on January 21, the elections for which were scheduled to be held on February 7.
According to an order of Dhirendra Ojha, Director Election Commission, three separate elections will be held to the Rajya Sabha in Jammu and Kashmir-first against the vacancy of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, second against the vacancy arising out of the retirement of PCC (I) chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz and third against the vacancies of two National Conference members-Mohammad Shafi Uri and Ghulam Nabi Wani Ratanpuri.
“In accordance with law on the subject i.e. one biennial election for the seat of Prof Soz, second biennial election for the seat of Azad and third biennial election for the seats of Uri and Ratanpuri will be held. Consequently, four members to be elected in the Rajya Sabha elections will hold office for full tenure of six years,” the order said.
Legislative Assembly Secretary Mohammad Ramzan, who has been appointed as Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha elections, will be issuing three separate notifications for the elections on January 21.
Official sources told the Excelsior that this will be for the first time when open ballot election will be held for four Rajya Sabha seats as against secret ballot system, which was adopted till the previous elections held in January 2009.
“The open ballot system means that the political parties, which field their candidates for the elections, can nominate one election agent each to check the ballot of their party MLAs, who comprised electoral college for the Rajya Sabha elections,” sources said, adding that a legislation to this effect has already been approved by the Legislature and will be enforced for the first time in Rajya Sabha elections in the State. The open ballot system had earlier been used in the Legislative Council elections.
“The open ballot system will end the chances of cross-voting, which had rocked the BJP in 2009 Rajya Sabha and 2011 Legislative Council elections. In 2009 Rajya Sabha elections, then BJP MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma, presently State party president, had cast second preference vote in favour of NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah. Jugal had later claimed that he had been directed by a senior national party leader to do so. One of the NPP MLAs had also cross voted in favour of National Conference in the same elections.
However, it was in 2011 Legislative Council elections that seven out of 11 BJP MLAs including then Legislature Party leader Prof Chaman Lal Gupta had cross-voted in favour of National Conference-Congress candidates leading to expulsion of all seven MLAs from the party. However, later all of them were taken back into the party but were denied mandate in the Assembly elections.
Referring to three separate notifications for four Rajya Sabha seats, sources said normally, one-third members of the Rajya Sabha from every State had to retire after every two years. However, this was not the case in Jammu and Kashmir, where elections to all four seats are held after every six years and all four elected MPs have six years term. Therefore, three separate elections are held for three seats.
All 87 newly elected MLAs formed electoral college for the Rajya Sabha elections. PDP has 28 MLAs in the new Assembly followed by BJP 25, National Conference 15, Congress 12, People’s Conference, a BJP ally, 2, CPM 1 and Independents and others 4.
In 2009 elections, NC and Congress, which were coalition partner in the State, had won all four Rajya Sabha seats with 45 MLAs (NC 28 and Congress 17) with the support of three Independent and others. In January 2009 elections, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mohammad Shafi Uri (NC), Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saif-ud-Din Soz (Congress) were elected. However, Dr Abdullah had resigned his Rajya Sabha membership in May 2009 after being elected to Lok Sabha from Srinagar. In his place, NC leader Ghulam Nabi Ratanpuri was elected to Rajya Sabha in August 2009.
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