Full House Voting Concludes, Alliance Strength Keeps BJP on Edge – Alfaaz – The Words

Srinagar: Voting for the four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir concluded on Friday with the participation of all members entitled to cast their ballot.

As learnt, all 86 legislators exercised their franchise, including AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, whose postal ballot was received by the Returning Officer while he remains in detention. The results of the voting are expected to be formally declared around 5:00 PM.

The current strength of the Legislative Assembly stands at 88. Two members did not participate in the in-person polling, Malik, who voted through postal ballot, and Peoples Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone, who chose to abstain.

Political arithmetic nonetheless remains heavily tilted in favour of the National Conference-led alliance. Backed by the Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, CPI(M), and several independents, the bloc has consolidated 58 votes, comfortably above the threshold required to claim all four seats. Multiple supporting MLAs, including independents Sheikh Khursheed and Shabir Kulley, have publicly asserted their commitment to the alliance lineup.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which fields a candidate for the fourth seat, enters the counting phase with a numerical deficit. The NC led alliance is understood to command 29 votes each for the third and fourth seats, compared to the BJP’s 28, narrowing the margin to a single vote. Any prospect of a BJP win is contingent on cross-voting by members of the opposition alliance.