Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 27: After PDP and BJP, National Conference and Congress tonight also entered into an alliance for Rajya Sabha elections for four seats, the elections for which are scheduled to be held on February 7.
While PDP and BJP would contest two seats each, NC and Congress would fight three seats (two NC and one Congress) and ensure that no seat went uncontested to the newly formed PDP-BJP combine.
The BJP today announced Chander Mohan Sharma and Shamsher Singh Manhas as its two candidates for Rajya Sabha elections. The PDP has already named Nazir Laway and Fayaz Mir as its nominees.
AICC (I) president Sonia Gandhi and National Conference working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met in New Delhi for 45 minutes late this evening after which the two parties decided to contest three seats of Rajya Sabha-two by NC and one by Congress.
“As per the agreement reached between Sonia and Omar, the NC would contest two seats against Notification No. 1 and 2, which they were certain to lose while Congress candidate and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest against Notification No. 3 on which election will be held for two seats and NC-Congress can give tough fight to PDP-BJP combine for one seat,” official sources said.
The National Conference has named two former Ministers of State for Home–Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo and Nasir Aslam Wani Sogami as its candidates for the two seats.
Azad reached here this afternoon to file his nomination papers tomorrow, the last date for filing the papers.
Sources said as per NC-Congress agreement, the NC would get Congress support for all Legislative Council seat elections due to be held in March-April this year in lieu of party support to Azad for Rajya Sabha seat.
In fact, all candidates of four major political parties in the Legislative Assembly-PDP, BJP, NC and Congress will file their nomination papers tomorrow.
Sources said BJP today took four nomination forms while NC and Congress took two each from the offices of the two Returning Officers. PDP has already obtained two nomination forms. Former National Conference MLC Bushan Lal Bhat also took nomination form today while two other Independent candidates have already taken the forms.
Kitchloo and Sogami had lost recent Assembly elections from Kishtwar and Amirakadal seats respectively while Azad had lost April-May Lok Sabha election from Udhampur-Doda constituency to BJP’s Dr Jitendra Singh.
PDP candidates-Nazir Laway and Fayaz Mir had lost Assembly elections from Kulgam and Kupwara respectively while BJP nominee Chander Mohan Sharma is party’s State vice president. Shamsher Singh, another BJP nominee is former State chief of the party.
However, going by composition of the parties in the Legislative Assembly, whose members comprised electoral college for Rajya Sabha elections, the PDP and BJP with 53 MLAs were certain to win three seats while there would be contest for the fourth seat.
A total of three separate elections would be held for four Rajya Sabha seats on February 7.
While PDP and BJP would easily win two seats for which separate elections on Notification Nos. 1 and 2 on which Kitchloo and Nasir Sogami will contest with their candidates getting minimum 53 votes as against 27 of NC-Congress combine, their candidates would have to fight for third election, which would be held for two seats, sources said
The PDP-BJP combine, which could get confirmed support of 56 MLAs (two of People’s Conference and one BJP rebel), would get 28 votes each for two candidates for third election and the number could go up if they could manage support of more Independent candidates while Ghulam Nabi Azad would get confirmed support of 27 MLAs only (15 from NC and 12 Congress). It would be seen how many Independent candidates support Azad in his bid to get re-elected from Rajya Sabha and save the post of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
PDP has 28, BJP 25, NC 15 and Congress 12 MLAs in the Assembly. Independent and Others have 7 seats, three of whom could go with the BJP while rest four were undecided so far.
Sources said as per the PDP-BJP agreement, both parties would contest one safe seat each against Notification Nos. 1 and 2 and field one candidate each on Notification No. 3 on which election would be held for two seats.
In 2009 Rajya Sabha elections, NC and Congress had won all four seats with 45 MLAs (NC 28 and Congress 17) with Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mohammad Shafi Uri from NC and Ghulam Nabi Azad and Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz from Congress making it to the Rajya Sabha. Later, Dr Abdullah had quit Rajya Sabha membership on being elected to Lok Sabha from Srinagar seat. Ghulam Nabi Ratanpuri was later elected to Rajya Sabha in place of Dr Abdullah.
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