- J&K Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP Eyes Multiple Wins, Focuses on Strategic Cross-Voting
SRINAGAR, Oct 13: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday formally entered the race for the Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, with its three candidates—Sat Sharma, Rakesh Mahajan, and Ali Mohammad Mir, filing their nomination papers for the four Upper House seats scheduled for polling on October 24. The nominations were submitted before Manoj Kumar Pandita, Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Returning Officer for the elections.
The BJP candidates were accompanied by Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh, Rajya Sabha member Ghulam Ali Khatana, and several senior party functionaries, including MLAs from both Jammu and Kashmir regions. The filing of nominations turned into a show of strength as the leaders led a procession from the party headquarters at Jawahar Nagar to the Assembly Secretariat, reflecting the party’s determination to make a strong mark in the elections.
Speaking to reporters after the nomination process, Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly Sunil Sharma said the BJP would make every effort to secure victory on all three seats it is contesting. “We have fielded candidates for three of the four Rajya Sabha seats and will do whatever it takes to win all three,” Sharma stated. He added that the BJP’s decision to contest multiple seats was both strategic and symbolic, underscoring the party’s commitment to strengthening its political presence in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Election Commission of India has issued three separate notifications for the four Rajya Sabha seats, with separate elections scheduled for two seats and a joint poll for the remaining two. The elections will fill vacancies that have remained unrepresented since February 2021, when the terms of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Nazir Ahmed Laway, Fayaz Ahmed Mir, and Shamsher Singh Manhas expired.
With an effective Assembly strength of 88 MLAs, the BJP currently holds 28 seats and is expected to win one seat comfortably. However, securing additional seats will depend on cross-voting or abstentions from non-BJP legislators. The remaining three seats are likely to favor the National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance, which enjoys a numerical advantage.
Political analysts view the BJP’s move to contest three seats as a calculated attempt to test the unity of the opposition alliance while signaling its growing confidence and organizational strength. The decision also reflects the party’s intent to expand its political base beyond its traditional support areas in Jammu by contesting assertively across the Union Territory.
Party sources said the BJP will base its campaign on the themes of development, governance stability, and integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the national mainstream. These issues, they said, continue to resonate with a significant segment of voters.
The filing of nominations has added intensity to the political atmosphere, with the National Conference and Congress finalizing their strategies after the latter decided not to contest following the denial of a “safe seat” by its alliance partner. The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections are expected to serve as an indicator of shifting alliances and emerging political trends in Jammu and Kashmir’s evolving post-reorganization political landscape.