J&K Rajya Sabha Race Heats Up as BJP Plans Saturday Strategy Meet

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir, with a core group meeting scheduled for Saturday to discuss key strategies and potential candidates.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on 25 September that elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats in the Union Territory will be held on 24 October, more than four years after they fell vacant.

“The core group meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir BJP will be held at the party headquarters in Jammu at 10 am on Saturday to discuss various issues of importance,” said BJP spokesperson Girdhari Lal Raina. He added that the party’s national general secretary and in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir, Tarun Chugh, will preside over the session.

Sources within the BJP indicate that the meeting will formally initiate the process of finalising nominees.

“The discussion will cover the Rajya Sabha polls and potential candidates. Names of three to four leaders are expected to emerge,” a party source revealed. Among those circulating in party circles are former J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina and ex-deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh. 

The meeting will also address broader concerns, including the current political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir and the upcoming Assembly bypolls in the Nagrota and Budgam constituencies.

The four Rajya Sabha seats became vacant in February 2021 following the expiration of terms for former MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Nazir Ahmed Laway. At the time, Jammu and Kashmir was under President’s Rule with no functional Assembly, delaying the elections. The J&K Assembly was reconstituted in November 2024 following the Union Territory’s inaugural polls after its reorganisation in 2019.

With elected MLAs now eligible to vote, the electoral process will follow proportional representation via the single transferable vote system. The quota for securing a seat is approximately 19 votes, assuming full participation.

Meanwhile, the National Conference (NC), which heads the ruling coalition, is strongly positioned to claim a significant share of the seats.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently stated that the party has not yet deliberated on candidates or seat-sharing arrangements with allies. However, sources within the party suggest that NC is likely to field its president, Farooq Abdullah, for one of the seats.

Discussions on final allocations are expected soon, with a focus on balancing representation between the Jammu and Kashmir regions while consolidating alliance unity.

As a junior partner, the Congress is aggressively pushing for one seat to amplify its national voice. It has sent veteran leader Digvijay Singh—AICC’s J&K special observer and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister—to negotiate with NC leaders.

Singh, who has long monitored coalition affairs, will relay proposals to the Congress high command, factoring in regional balances, voter trends, and past performances in Budgam and Nagrota to craft a winnable pact.

For the Assembly bypolls, the Congress aims to leverage its regional presence while respecting NC’s strong foothold in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The negotiations will likely involve a detailed evaluation of voter demographics, past electoral performance, and current political dynamics in Budgam and Nagrota. The coalition’s approach will be pragmatic, aiming to field candidates who can consolidate support and counter the opposition effectively,” said a source within the party.

On the opposition side, the BJP’s 29 MLAs give it a solid chance at securing one seat, potentially capitalising on any alliance fractures or surplus votes.

Saturday’s meeting could solidify the BJP’s candidate list, setting the stage for a competitive poll that will test the unity of the NC-Congress alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.