7 in Fray for Rajya Sabha Polls, 2 Forms Likely to Be Rejected

SRINAGAR: Battle lines have become clear for the Rajya Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, with nine candidates—four from the National Conference (NC) and three from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—filing nomination papers on Monday, the last date for nominations.

A total of nine candidates submitted their nomination papers before the Returning Officer (RO) of the election. The Secretary of the Assembly, Manoj Pandita, is serving as the RO for the polls.

According to details, NC’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 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 favour 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. (KNO)