The rift between the ruling National Conference (NC) and the Congress over seat-sharing for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections appears to be widening after the NC snubbed the Congress on the fourth, highly contested seat.
Brushing aside the growing rift between the alliance partners, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took an indirect swipe at all opposition parties and independent lawmakers, saying that “upcoming Rajya Sabha elections will serve as a test of political loyalties in Jammu and Kashmir.”
He said his party had decided to contest all four seats independently after the Congress chose not to contest what it considered a risky seat. Omar added that the upcoming elections would expose the real allies of the BJP in Kashmir, and everyone would be watching closely.
Omar’s remarks carry weight, as during both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, the Kashmiri people collectively voted against the BJP to prevent it from retaining power in Jammu and Kashmir.
Any party or independent lawmaker extending support to the BJP now risks their political future, while opposition parties extending support can truly expect the imminent downfall.
Voting pattern in both elections reflected that the people of Kashmir voted against any idea of BJP ruling the erstwhile state.
“This election will reveal who stands with the BJP and who stands against it. Anyone who abstains or votes in their favour will be exposed before the people,” Omar said.
Omar said, “The BJP is two votes short of the required 30 to win the fourth seat whereas an alliance needs six votes to secure a victory.” He further alleged that if they manage to win this seat, “it would only be through money, power, muscle power, or misuse of agencies.”
Omar has thrown the ball into the court of opposition parties and independent candidates, whose votes will decide the result of the crucial fourth seat.
There are fewer chances of the BJP getting the two crucial votes to secure a win against the NC, given its relationship with the PDP, Congress, and independent lawmakers has not been ideal, and also people of Kashmir will not allow leaders to extend support to the BJP.
“We made it clear to the NC leadership that we cannot afford to depend on independents to vote for our candidate. We requested that they spare five of their MLAs for us and, in return, ask the independents to vote for the NC candidate contesting under the third notification, which involves a combined election,” a senior Congress leader said.
However, the proposal was reportedly rejected by the NC. “The independents are not bound to show their marked ballots to anyone. If they do, their votes are liable to be cancelled. In contrast, NC MLAs, being part of a political party, are required to show their marked ballots to authorised polling agents,” the Congress leader added.
Of the 53 MLAs supporting the ruling alliance, five are independents: Satish Sharma (Minister, Chamb segment), Pyare Lal (Inderwal), Dr Rameshwar Singh (Bani), Muzaffar Khan (Rajouri), and Choudhary Akram (Surankote).
As per election rules, independent MLAs are not required to display their marked ballots, unlike party-affiliated MLAs who must show their votes to authorised agents.
Despite having a numerical advantage of 28 to 24, the BJP’s chances of winning the fourth seat, especially with independent support, seem a far less likely scenario.
However, it will be interesting to see whether NC or BJP secures a win on the fourth and highly contested Rajya Sabha seat.
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