Three NC Leaders to Take Oath as Rajya Sabha Members on December 1 | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Three National Conference leaders—Shammi Oberoi, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, and Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan—will take oath as Rajya Sabha members on December 1, restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s representation in the Upper House after a nearly five-year gap.

The ceremony, to be administered by Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on the opening day of Parliament’s Winter Session, follows the trio’s victory in last month’s elections, the first such polls in the Union Territory since the 2019 reorganisation. This development comes as BJP’s Sat Sharma, who secured the fourth seat, has already assumed office.

The National Conference clinched three of the four contested seats on October 24, leveraging its strength in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan won the first seat, Sajjad Kichloo the second, and Shammi Oberoi the third, while Sat Sharma triumphed in a close contest amid reports of cross-voting.

The seats fell vacant on February 2, 2021, when the previous incumbents’ terms ended, as the erstwhile state lacked an elected assembly under President’s Rule, barring biennial elections per constitutional provisions.

The oath-taking will enable the new MPs to join legislative proceedings from December 1 to 19, amplifying Jammu and Kashmir’s voice amid ongoing debates on statehood and regional issues.