Jammu: The core group of the Jammu and Kashmir BJP convened here on Saturday to discuss a range of issues, including the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections for the Union Territory’s four seats, a senior party leader said. He emphasized that the party high command will finalise a candidate list acceptable to all stakeholders.
J&K BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said the meeting was chaired by National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and attended by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, J&K BJP president Sat Sharma, national executive member Ravinder Raina, and other senior leaders.
The Election Commission (EC) had announced on September 25 that the elections for the four Rajya Sabha seats in J&K would be held on October 24, over four years after the seats fell vacant.
“The core group discussed various matters, including the current political scenario and the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections,” Sethi told reporters at the party headquarters. He noted that Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, was unable to attend as he was not present in the region.
“The members shared their views on potential candidates. These recommendations will be sent to the party high command through the concerned committee, which will finalise the list of candidates. The final decision of the high command will be acceptable to all,” he added.
Sethi clarified that this was the initial meeting on the matter and that no discussions were ongoing with any regional parties. He also confirmed that the BJP plans to contest all four seats.
The last date for filing nominations is October 13, while counting of votes will take place on the evening of October 24, shortly after polling concludes.
The Rajya Sabha elections come nearly a year after the J&K Assembly polls. The four seats became vacant in February 2021, when the terms of then-MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Nazir Ahmed Laway ended. Polls could not be held at the time as J&K was under President’s Rule without an Assembly. The current Assembly was formed in November last year following the Union Territory’s first Assembly elections since its creation in 2019.
