In the upcoming election for vice president, only five Lok Sabha members from Jammu and Kashmir will have representation in the electoral college. This is the second time the region will have no Rajya Sabha members participating in the vote.
Though Jammu and Kashmir has four Rajya Sabha seats, the seats have remained empty since February 2021. The Election Commission has not started the process to fill them, though the assembly elections took place in September-October 2024.
The Election Commission announced on Friday that the 17th vice presidential election will be held on September 9.
On July 24, Jagdeep Dhankhar abruptly resigned as the vice president. The surprise resignation raised questions about the relationship between the executive and Parliament.
The formal notification will be issued on August 7 and candidates can file their nominations until August 21.
If there is a contest, polling will take place the same day inside the Parliament building. The result will be declared that evening.
The vice president of India is chosen by an electoral college made up of members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
All five Lok Sabha MPs from Jammu and Kashmir and the only MP from Ladakh will vote in this election. From Jammu and Kashmir, the Lok Sabha MPs eligible to vote are Dr Jitendra Singh (Udhampur-Doda) and Jugal Kishore Sharma (Jammu-Reasi) from the BJP; Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi (Srinagar) and Mian Altaf Ahmed (Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri) from the National Conference; and Independent MP Engineer Rashid (Baramulla). The MP from Ladakh, Mohd Hanifa Jan, is an Independent aligned with the National Conference.
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In the current 90-member assembly, the National Conference–Congress alliance, with support from some Independent MLAs, has a majority of over 50 members. This puts the coalition in a strong position to win three of the four Rajya Sabha seats.
The BJP, with 28 MLAs after the recent death of one member, is expected to get only one seat. It had hoped to secure a second seat with the help of the five nominated MLAs who have voting rights in the assembly. But, the plan is on hold because the Congress has challenged the nominations in court, questioning whether the Lieutenant Governor has the power to nominate these five members.
As a result, Jammu and Kashmir has had no Rajya Sabha MPs for over four years. This lack of representation is more significant because the vice president also serves as the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
Though Jammu and Kashmir has no elected members in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Ali Khatana, a nominated BJP member from the Union Territory, will be able to vote, as nominated members are part of the electoral college.
The INDIA bloc, which includes the National Conference, is likely to put forward a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA. The final decision of the NC and Independent MP Engineer Rashid will be known after nominations close.
As the vice presidential election reflects the current political divide between the ruling coalition and the BJP, Jammu and Kashmir’s absence in the Rajya Sabha again shows how incomplete its national political participation remains, even after holding fresh assembly elections.
The missing Rajya Sabha members have reinforced the feeling that, post Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed dilution of political authority.
