Srinagar – In a dramatic political upset that has put seven MLAs under a cloud of suspicion, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday clinched the fourth Rajya Sabha seat from Jammu & Kashmir-despite falling short of the numbers on paper-after four legislators cross-voted and three ballot papers were“deliberately” invalidated.

The first Upper House election held in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 saw the National Conference (NC) win three seats comfortably, but it was the BJP's surprise victory that stole the spotlight and set off an explosive blame game in the Union Territory.

BJP's J&K chief Sat Pal Sharma secured 32 votes, four more than the party's strength of 28 in the 90-member House. NC's Imran Nabi Dar-who entered the contest as a favourite with the assured support of 58 MLAs from NC, Congress, PDP, CPI(M) and Independents-secured only 21 votes, seven below expectations.

Shammi Oberoi of NC bagged 31 votes to take the other seat in the final round of polling.

Cross-Voting Sparks Political Fireworks

The shock numbers have brought intense scrutiny on the voting process and on authorized polling agents-responsible for verifying party MLAs' marked ballots before they are deposited into the box.

All major parties except the PDP appointed authorised agents. But Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat-himself an agent-cast his vote without a substitute present, later remarking cheekily,“I had to show my vote to myself.”

Senior NC leaders alleged that PDP MLAs reneged on their promise to back Dar and instead helped boost BJP's tally. They vowed to“name and shame” those who“betrayed the mandate”.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah congratulated the victors while noting that“every NC vote stayed intact” and questioned the origin of BJP's four surplus votes.

BJP Claims 'Conscience Vote'

Calling the victory a sign of support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sat Pal Sharma said the four extra MLAs“listened to their conscience.”