Rajya Sabha polls for four JK seats scheduled on Oct 24

Srinagar: The Election Commission of India on Wednesday announced that elections for four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir will be held on October 24.

This comes nearly a year after the Union Territory’s Assembly elections. Jammu and Kashmir has been without representation in the Upper House since February 15, 2021, when Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmed Laway completed their terms. Two other members, Fayaz Ahmed Mir and Shamsheer Singh Manhas, had ended their tenure on February 10, 2021.

While announcing the schedule, the EC noted that the former State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature). Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the four sitting Rajya Sabha members of the erstwhile State are deemed elected to fill the seats allocated to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

All four seats remained vacant due to the absence of a sufficient electorate at the time the vacancies arose. With the formation of the UT’s Legislative Assembly, the necessary electorate is now in place to conduct the biennial elections.

Voting will take place on October 24, with counting scheduled for the evening, an hour after polling concludes.