The National Conference (NC) clinched three out of four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Satpal Sharma secured the fourth seat after a closely fought contest.
This was the first Rajya Sabha election held in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 — a historic moment marking the return of parliamentary representation from the Union Territory to the Upper House.
Voting took place earlier in the day at the Legislative Assembly complex in Srinagar, where MLAs cast their votes at three designated polling booths amid tight security and intense political anticipation.
News agency KINS reported that the National Conference’s Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, and Gurwinder Singh Oberoi emerged victorious with comfortable margins, reaffirming the party’s dominance in the Assembly with the support of its alliance partners and several independent legislators.
The battle for the fourth seat, however, turned out to be the real thriller of the day. BJP’s Satpal Sharma polled 32 votes, narrowly defeating NC-backed independent candidate Imran Ansari, who managed 22 votes.
The outcome concluded a day of high political drama, with both the NC and BJP exuding confidence of victory until the final rounds of counting sealed the results.(KINS)
