NC wins 3 of 4 Rajya Sabha seats in J&K, BJP takes fourth

Srinagar — Jammu and Kashmir’s National Conference secured three of the four Rajya Sabha seats contested on Friday, while the Bharatiya Janata Party won the remaining seat in the Union Territory’s first upper-house polls since its 2019 reorganisation. Voting took place inside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly complex and counting concluded the same day.

Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan of the National Conference won the first seat, receiving 58 votes to defeat BJP nominee Ali Mohammad Mir, who polled 28 votes; one ballot was rejected. The party’s Sajad Kichloo and Shammi Oberoi won the other two seats allocated under separate notifications. The fourth seat was claimed by BJP leader Sat Paul Sharma, who received 32 votes against National Conference candidate Imran Nabi Dar’s 22 in the contest under a combined notification.

The Election Commission had issued three notifications for the four seats, holding two polls separately and combining the other two into a single contest. Assembly voting was held at three polling booths from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with counting beginning later in the day. The electoral college comprised MLAs from the recently convened 90-member legislature, with...