8 candidates file nominations for 6 LC seats
Jammu Tawi, Mar 29 : Eight candidates of mainstream political parties Wednesday filed nomination papers for the six vacant seats in the Upper House of the state legislature.
The candidates filed the nominations before Assembly Secretary, Mohammad Ramzan who is also Returning Officer for the elections.
The PDP candidates namely Abdul Qayoom Dar (Jammu Province) and Yasir Reshi (Kashmir Province) filed their nominations in presence of party leaders including sitting Ministers and Legislators.
BJP candidates including Vikram Randhawa (Jammu Province) Pradeep Sharma, (District Poonch), Girdhari Lal Raina and Ashok Kumar Bhat (Kashmir Province) filed their nomination papers in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister and other Ministers and Legislators.
The candidates of NC and INC including Aga Syed Mehmood (Kashmir Province) and Thakur Balbir Singh (Jammu Province) also filed their nomination papers in presence of the party leaders.
Six seats are falling vacant on April 19 as the members on these seats will retire after two years term.
Those members who are retiring include Jehangir Mir Jugal Kishore of Congress, Bashir Ahmed Veeri, Master Noor Hussain, DS Oberoi (deceased) of National Conference and ruling PDP's Yasir Reshi.
The seats becoming vacant belong to Kashmir region (three seats), Jammu (two separate) and one seat reserved for Poonch.
The polling for six seats of the state legislative council (Upper House) will be held on April 17 in which the legislators will vote as they comprise the electoral college.
The PDP and the BJP are fighting these elections in alliance while the Congress and the National Conference are supporting each other.
Ruling PDP and BJP are likely to win two seats each as they together have 55 members (PDP 28, BJP 25 and PC 2, while the opposition National Conference (15) and Congress (12) have together 27 seats. Also, four independent legislators including M Y Tarigami, Hakeem Yasin, Er Rasheed and Pawan Gupta are crucial for the opposition. (KNS)
