Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 21: The Election Commission today set the process into motion for holding elections to four seats of Rajya Sabha in Jammu and Kashmir brushing aside the demands of some political parties and legal experts to defer the elections till newly elected 87 MLAs, who comprised electoral college for the elections, take oath in the Assembly, which is under suspended animation in view of imposition of Governor’s Rule in the State.
Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha elections Mohammad Ramzan, who also happened to be the Secretary of Legislative Assembly, issued three separate notifications for the elections to four seats on February 7.
Official sources told the Excelsior that first notifications has been issued vide No. LA/Elec/COS/101/2015 for holding election to the Rajya Sabha seat, which will fall vacant on February 10 on the retirement of PCC (I) president and former Union Minister Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz while second notification has been issued vide No. LA/Elec/COS/102/2015 for the vacancy arising out of the retirement of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad on February 10.
Third notification has been issued vide No. LA/Elec/COS/103/2015 for two vacancies-one of which has already fallen vacant while another will fall vacant on February 15. Of two National Conference members in Rajya Sabha-Mohammad Shafi Uri, whose term was due to expire on February 15, had resigned on January 12 as he has already been elected to the Assembly from Uri Assembly constituency in Baramulla district while Ghulam Nabi Wani (Ratanpuri) will retire on February 15.
“While filing nomination papers each candidate is required to mention in his nomination paper as to which of the three elections he intends to contest by indicating Biennial Election to the Council of States,” the three separate election notifications issued by the Returning Officer said.
The candidates can file nomination papers for all three elections till January 28 before the Returning Officer (Secretary Legislative Assembly) and Assistant Returning Officer (Deputy Secretary Legislative Assembly) from 11 am to 3 pm. The nomination papers will be taken up for scrutiny on January 29 while the candidates can withdraw their nomination papers on January 31.
The election, if necessary, will be held on February 7 between 9 am to 4 pm and counting in the event of election being contested will take place the same day at 5 pm.
Stakes are high for all four major political parties even as seven Independents and Others could also play crucial role in the Rajya Sabha elections in view of fractured mandate in the elections and delay in reaching consensus between two major parties for forming an alliance.
The PDP has become single largest party in the Assembly with 28 seats followed by BJP (25), NC (15) and Congress (12). People’s Conference, a BJP ally, has two seats and CPM one while four others including Pawan Gupta, Hakim Mohammad Yasin, Engineer Abdul Rashid and Syed Bakir Rizvi are Independents.
Though the PDP and BJP were holding talks for formation of next Government in the State, they were yet to reach a consensus.
According to political observers, the PDP-BJP combine with the support of two MLAs of People’s Conference and BJP rebel Pawan Gupta could sweep the Rajya Sabha elections winning all four seats though NC-Congress combine with some Independents can put up tough fight for one seat.
The Congress is desperate to see Azad through to the Rajya Sabha after he lost the Lok Sabha elections in May this year to BJP’s Dr Jitendra Singh. Azad will lose the status of the Leader of Opposition as he will cease to be a member of the Rajya Sabha if he was unable to get re-elected from Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said the NC with 15 MLAs and confirmed support of one Independent-Syed Bakir Rizvi of Zanskar, whom the party had supported in the Assembly elections-would like to see its own member in the Rajya Sabha with the help of Congress.
According to observers, if all parties go it alone, it will be PDP-BJP fight for two seats, for which single elections has to be held while they can win one seat each in the third elections for which election to two seats will be held.
The observers were, however, confident that finally the PDP-BJP will strike a deal before February 7 and win all four Rajya Sabha seats as the BJP was making all out efforts to reach close to majority in the Upper House. The PDP, which is holding a meeting on January 24, could discuss the possible tie-up with the BJP for Rajya Sabha elections and formation of new Government in Jammu and Kashmir apart from election of new party president.
The PDP-BJP combine would be safe on two seats, the elections for which will be held separately as they have 53 members of their own as against maximum of 44 required for victory. However, for elections to remaining, two seats, they can easily get 28 votes each for their two candidates and with equal number of second preference votes can see their candidates through.
The NC-Congress combine can have 28 or even 29 votes but would lack second preference votes.
While recognized political parties can field candidates on all four seats, the Independent candidates would need at least 10 proposers (all MLAs) to join the fray.
In 2009 elections, NC-Congress with 45 members (28+17) had won all four Rajya Sabha seats from the State. PDP with 21 MLAs and support of 3 NPP members had failed to send even a single representative to the Rajya Sabha.
Why not Farooq in
RS? asks Omar
Former Chief Minister and National Conference working president Omar Abdullah would like the Congress to support NC president and former Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah for Rajya Sabha election.
“And what of Dr (Farooq) Abdullah’s chances if Cong supports him’’? he asked in response to a tweet by a journalist that Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad has chance of getting re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir if National conference supports him.
NC has 15 MLAs and Congress 12 and with the support of three or four Independent MLAs, they can send one representative to the Rajya Sabha even if PDP-BJP join hands.
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