J&K Not Represented In Rajya Sabha For Over 4 Yrs

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar – Jammu & Kashmir has been without representation in the Rajya Sabha for more than four and a half years, with all four of its seats currently lying vacant.

The Union Territory has had no member in the Upper House of Parliament under its own quota since February 15, 2021, when the terms of former MPs Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmad Laway came to an end.

Just days earlier, on February 10, 2021, the six-year terms of Mir Muhammad Fayaz and Shamsher Singh Manhas had also concluded. Since then, all four Rajya Sabha seats allocated to Jammu & Kashmir have remained unfilled.

The Election Commission of India has not yet announced the schedule for elections to these vacant seats, despite the electoral college-comprising elected MLAs of the J&K Legislative Assembly-being in place since October 8, 2014, when results of the last Assembly polls were declared.

Sources indicate that Rajya Sabha polls could possibly be held after by-elections are conducted for the Nagrota and Budgam Assembly constituencies. However, the Election Commission has not provided any official timeline for the process.

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This is not the first time Jammu & Kashmir has faced such a scenario. During the 1990s, a similar situation arose when Assembly elections could not be held due to the prevailing security situation. Between 1994 and 1996, all four Rajya Sabha seats from the then-state remained vacant, as the members elected in 1988 completed their terms without successors being chosen.

It is noteworthy that in 2022, Ghulam Ali Khatana, a resident of Jammu, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India. However, his nomination came under the President's quota and was not from J&K's allocated share of seats in the Upper House.

As of now, the absence of any elected representative from J&K in the Rajya Sabha continues to raise concerns over the lack of regional voice and legislative participation at the national level. (inputs from KNO)

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