7 key candidates in fray; forms of 2 non-locals to be rejected
Srinagar, Oct 13: Battle lines have become clear for the Rajya Sabha polls in Jammu & Kashmir, with nine candidates-four from the National Conference and three from the Bharatiya Janata Party-filing nomination papers on Monday, the last date for nominations.
A total of nine candidates submitted their nomination papers before the Returning Officer of the election. The Secretary of the Assembly, Manoj Pandita, is serving as the RO for the polls.
According to details, National Conference’s Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan and BJP’s Ali Muhammad Mir filed nomination papers for the first notification, under which the election will be held for one seat. A candidate named Prabhakar Dada also filed nomination papers.
Choudhary Ramzan is expected to easily win the seat, given that the NC-led alliance comprises 53 MLAs. He is likely to secure the seat even without the support of Congress, which is reportedly upset over the denial of a safe seat.
For this seat, the BJP commands the support of its 28 MLAs. The non-BJP opposition bloc, comprising seven MLAs, has kept its cards close to its chest.
According to details, NC’s Sajad Kichloo and BJP’s Ali Muhammad Mir have filed nomination papers for the second notification, under which elections will be held for one seat. Kichloo is expected to win, given that the voting pattern is likely to mirror that of the first seat.
Under the third notification, for which a combined election will be held for two seats, NC’s Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, Imran Dar, and BJP’s Sat Pal Sharma have filed nomination papers. A non-local candidate named Kante Sayanna has also filed nomination papers for this seat.
The two candidates who receive the highest number of votes will win these two seats.
The NC-led alliance is expected to ensure the victory of Gurwinder Singh Oberoi alias Shammi Oberoi by securing a minimum of 29 votes for him, while allocating the remaining 24 votes to Imran Dar. Meanwhile, BJP MLAs are expected to cast all 28 votes in favor of Sat Sharma.
Sources said that the nomination forms of both non-local candidates are likely to be rejected by the Returning Officer due to the absence of mandatory proposers.
Trust has been broken: Tariq Karra
Srinagar, Oct 13: President of the Pradesh Congress Committee, Tariq Hamid Karra, on Monday said that the National Conference’s (NC) ‘backtracking’ on its commitment to the Congress leadership regarding the Rajya Sabha polls suggests it may be reconsidering its relationship with the INDI Alliance.
Speaking to reporters, Karra said the NC leadership had assured Congress of allocating a safe seat. “We were given an understanding that we would be allocated a safe seat-the first or second. When NC remained adamant about offering us the fourth seat, which was considered unsafe, we convened a core committee meeting. It was unanimously decided that we should not contest an election we are likely to lose. The committee also expressed resentment over the backtracking of commitments made at the level of Sonia Ji and Kharge Ji,” he said.
He added that the NC leadership conveyed that anything beyond the fourth seat was non-negotiable. “When Mir Sahab and I sent a joint letter to Omar Sahab, he directed us to speak with Farooq Sahib. Farooq Sahib’s response was self-explanatory-he told us they were only willing to discuss the fourth seat,” Karra said.
When asked whether NC had betrayed Congress, Karra responded, “I wouldn’t use the word betrayal. But our trust has been broken.”
He further said that NC’s actions indicate it may be reconsidering its relationship with the INDI Alliance bloc. “It is not that the understanding with NC in J&K has been unfulfilled. But it also suggests that NC may be evaluating whether to remain in the INDI bloc,” he said.
On Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma’s remark that Congress is a puppet of NC in Jammu & Kashmir, Karra declined to comment.
“I would not react to irresponsible statements made by BJP,” he said.
