Elections for 2 J&K Assembly seats likely along with Bihar polls

Jammu, Aug 02: The elections for the two vacant Assembly seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are expected to be held concurrently with the Bihar Assembly elections, which could take place at any time this year.Currently, the electoral revision is underway in Bihar, which is set to go to the polls soon. Highly placed sources told Rising Kashmir, requesting anonymity, that the notification for the by-elections to the two vacant Assembly seats in J&K is most likely to be issued along with the Bihar Assembly election notifications.The two seats in J&K’s Assembly became vacant shortly after the last elections held in the UT last year. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah vacated his Budgam seat after winning from another constituency in the Kashmir region, while the Nagrota seat fell vacant following the untimely death of BJP MLA Devender Rana.The J&K Assembly comprises 90 members – 47 from the Kashmir region and 43 from Jammu. The by-elections for these vacant seats have been delayed since last year, mainly due to the ongoing electoral processes in other states.It is also noteworthy that Jammu and Kashmir will not participate in the process to elect the Vice President of India, as there are no Rajya Sabha members from the UT; all four seats reserved for J&K in the Upper House remain vacant. “This issue has been recognised, and it has been decided that the two vacant seats must be filled to ensure J&K’s representation in the Rajya Sabha,” the sources added.The MLAs from J&K vote to elect Rajya Sabha members.