Srinagar- With the Rajya Sabha election just a week away, independent MLAs in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly have emerged as crucial players after last-minute unity talks between the National Conference (NC) and Congress failed.

Congress had publicly announced it would not contest the“riskier” fourth Rajya Sabha seat. Negotiations had nearly resulted in Congress agreeing to field a candidate for the competitive seat, but differences over independent MLAs' voting methods disrupted the talks.

There are seven independent MLAs in the Assembly - five supporting the government and two aligned with the fragmented opposition bloc. The government-backed independents include Satish Sharma (minister), Pyare Lal (Inderwal), Muzaffar Khan (Rajouri), Choudhary Akram (Surankote), and Dr. Rameshwar Singh (Bani). They submitted letters of support to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah when he staked his claim to form the government last year.

On the opposition side, Sheikh Khursheed (Langate) and Shabir Ahmed Kulley are the independents. Notably, Kulley accompanied NC's Rajya Sabha candidates to submit their nomination papers on October 13. Khursheed contested as an independent after his party, Awami Ittehad, was not recognized by the Election Commission of India.

The focus on independent MLAs stems from opaque voting rules. In Rajya Sabha elections, party-affiliated MLAs must show their marked ballots to their party's authorized agents. Independent MLAs, however, insert their ballots directly into the box without displaying them to any agent, making their votes decisive in a tightly contested fourth seat.

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