Ending all speculations, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced its candidates for three Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir.
The Central Election Committee of the BJP approved the names of its candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections 2025 from Jammu and Kashmir, which will be held under three separate notifications.
In an official order issued from the party's Central Office, the BJP stated that the committee had given its approval to the following names for the Rajya Sabha seats from the Union Territory.
As per the order, Dr. Ali Mohammad Mir has been nominated as the party's candidate under the first notification, Rakesh Mahajan has been approved under the second notification, and Sat Pal Sharma has been announced as the candidate for the two seats notified under the third notification.
The party expressed confidence that the selected candidates would effectively represent the interests of Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha and further strengthen the BJP's organisational presence and political vision in the Union Territory.
According to the order issued by the Central Election Committee, Sat Pal Sharma, president of the BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit, will be the party's candidate for the seat under the third notification—an indication that Sharma is in a strong position to win the Rajya Sabha seat.
The other two candidates, Dr. Ali Mohammad Mir and Rakesh Mahajan, are expected to contest the Rajya Sabha elections largely as a formality, as the ruling National Conference (NC) is comfortably placed to win both seats under the first and second notifications.
As reported earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued three separate notifications for the four Rajya Sabha vacancies from Jammu and Kashmir. Voting under all three notifications will involve the same 88 legislators, who will cast their votes three times to elect four members of the Upper House.
According to the ECI, the polls will be conducted through three notifications since the vacancies fall under different election cycles. With the support of some Independent legislators, the NC is comfortably positioned to win three of the four seats.
The ECI explained its decision by citing a 1994 Delhi High Court ruling, stating: "These four vacancies are being filled by holding three separate elections, in accordance with the law on the subject, as each of these vacancies falls under three different cycles."
Legislative Assembly Secretary Manoj Kumar Pandit, who has been appointed as the Returning Officer, issued two notifications for one seat each and one notification for two seats.
The elections, in which 88 MLAs are eligible to vote, will take place in the Legislative Assembly complex in Srinagar, coinciding with the Assembly session beginning October 23.
Candidates can file their nomination papers till October 13, while scrutiny will be held at 11 a.m. on October 14 in the office of the Returning Officer. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 16. If required, polling will be held on October 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by counting at 5 p.m.
The ECI has reiterated that all forms and submissions must strictly adhere to the prescribed timelines. Each candidate, even those from recognised national or state parties, must be proposed by at least 10 MLAs and furnish a formal party mandate; failure to do so will result in rejection of nomination papers, officials said.
Among the parties, only the National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have double-digit representation in the newly elected 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, which currently has 88 voting MLAs due to two vacancies.
The NC-led alliance, comprising the Congress, CPM, and a few Independents, commands the support of over 50 MLAs, ensuring it can comfortably secure three out of the four Rajya Sabha seats. The BJP, with 28 MLAs, is poised to win one seat, most likely under the notification for two vacancies.
The current composition of the House includes 41 MLAs from NC, 28 from BJP, six from Congress, three from PDP, and one each from People's Conference, CPM, and AAP, besides seven Independents. The AAP MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik, has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
