Elections for 4 Jammu and Kashmir Rajya Sabha seats on October 24: EC

The four Jammu and Kashmir seats fell vacant in February 2021 when the terms of the then-MPs Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Nazir Ahmed Laway ended. Since Jammu and Kashmir was under President’s Rule at the time and there was no Assembly in place, the elections for the four seats could not be held then.

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was formed in November last year after the first Assembly elections for the Union Territory, which was established in 2019.

In its statement, the EC said: “All four above mentioned seats are lying vacant since the expiration of term of office of sitting members due to non-availability of required electorate to conduct the said elections at the time of occurrence of said vacancies. Consequent upon the constitution of the State Legislative Assembly of UT of Jammu & Kashmir, there is required electorate to conduct the Biennial Elections to the Council of States from UT of Jammu & Kashmir.”

Earlier this year, the Election Commission wrote to the Union Law and Justice Ministry seeking a Presidential order to curtail the terms of the four Jammu and Kashmir seats so that they do not run concurrently.

The Law Ministry in August rejected the proposal, stating that there was no such provision in the law, as The Indian Express had reported.

According to Article 83 of the Constitution, Rajya Sabha is a permanent House, in which one-third of the members are required to retire every second year. Due to the imposition of President’s Rule over the years, the four seats of Jammu and Kashmir have terms that end together.

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