The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced by-elections for six vacant Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Haryana, scheduled for December 20. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir was not included in this schedule despite having four vacant seats since the dissolution of its Legislative Assembly in 2018, raising alarms about the region’s absence in the Upper House.
The previous Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in February 2015, coinciding with the formation of the PDP-BJP coalition government.
In that election, the alliance secured three seats, Fayaz Ahmad Mir and Nazir Ahmad Laway from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Shamsher Singh Manhas from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The fourth seat was won by Ghulam Nabi Azad from the National Conference-Congress alliance, while Chander Mohan Sharma from the BJP lost.
Since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory in 2019, these seats have remained vacant.
In contrast, the upcoming by-elections will fill vacancies caused by various resignations in Andhra Pradesh (three seats), and one seat each in Odisha, West Bengal, and Haryana.
However, the ongoing exclusion of Jammu and Kashmir from the electoral process highlights the extended political vacuum in the Union Territory raising concerns regarding its representation in national decision-making bodies.
The NC has decided to send party president Farooq Abdullah to Rajya Sabha. Abdullah didn’t contest the assembly polls held in September and October.
The election was won by the NC-Congress alliance, while the BJP emerged as a strong opposition. The NC could also send one of its senior leaders—Sajad Kitchloo or Ajay Sadhotra—from Jammu who lost the assembly elections. Given the number of seats the NC has won, 42, in the 90-member assembly, the party will get three and BJP one of the four Rajya Sabha seats.
