NC Announces Candidates for 3 Rajya Sabha Seats, talks with Congress for 4th seat underway

October 10, 2025

Srinagar: The ruling National Conference (NC) on Friday declared its candidates for three of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while confirming that discussions are underway with the Congress regarding the fourth seat.

Senior NC leaders Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Shammi Oberoi, and Sajad Kichloo have been nominated to contest the upcoming polls.

Addressing the media, NC General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said, “We have kept one seat open, and talks are ongoing with the Congress.”

Alliance Strategy Under Wraps

The NC leadership did not clarify whether the party intends to allocate one of the three safer seats to the Congress or offer them a contest in a seat where the BJP holds numerical advantage.

The opposition alliance together commands 24 votes for the fourth seat, while the BJP enjoys 28 votes.

Background of Vacant Seats

The Rajya Sabha seats in J&K have been lying vacant since February 2021, when the terms of Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Nazir Ahmed Laway ended.

At the time, J&K was under President’s Rule, and elections could not be conducted due to the absence of a legislative assembly.

The Election Commission of India had, on September 24, announced that polls for the four seats would be held on October 24.

The J&K legislative assembly currently has 90 elected members. The NC leads with 42 seats, followed by the BJP with 29, Congress 6, PDP 3, CPI(M) 1, Peoples Conference 1, Aam Aadmi Party 1, and Awami Ittehad Party 1. Of the six Independents, four have since extended their support to the NC.