Srinagar, Oct 6: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday issued three separate notifications, formally kick-starting the nomination process for four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir.
The notifications were released after the President of India called upon the elected members of the J&K Legislative Assembly to elect representatives to the Upper House of Parliament.
According to the ECI schedule, October 13 has been fixed as the last date for filing nominations, while scrutiny of the papers will take place on October 14. Candidates may withdraw nominations until October 16.
If required, polling will be held on October 24, with counting to take place the same day, the poll body said.
The Commission clarified that three separate elections will be conducted for the four seats — two separate polls for the first and second seats and a combined election for the remaining two.
Political analysts expect the National Conference–Congress alliance to comfortably win three of the four seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears well-positioned to secure the fourth.
With seven independent MLAs in the Assembly not bound by any party affiliation or voting disclosure rules, the BJP is believed to have a numerical advantage for one seat.
Notably, the anti-defection provisions under the Tenth Schedule do not apply to Rajya Sabha elections, meaning political parties cannot issue whips to their legislators for voting in these polls. (Agencies)
