J&K bypolls likely with Bihar polls; 4 Rajya Sabha seats in UT slated for elections

New Delhi: Bypolls to two assembly seats in Jammu & Kashmir, vacant for nearly a year now, are likely to be held along with the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, ET has gathered.

Alongside, the long pending election to fill four Rajya Sabha seats, vacant since 2021, is also set to be scheduled soon by the Election Commission of India, it is learnt.

Assembly constituencies of Budgam and Nagrota have been vacant since October 2024. Budgam was rendered vacant immediately after the 2024 assembly elections when chief minister Omar Abdullah chose to retain the Ganderbal constituency. The seat has been vacant since October 21, 2024. Nagrota, on the other hand, fell vacant on October 31, 2024, after the death of MLA Devender Singh Rana.

As per the election laws - Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 - bypolls should have been held here within six months of the vacancy which meant by the end of April 2025. The ECI, however, can postpone a bypoll if in consultation with the central government it "certifies that it is difficult to hold the bye-election within the said period".

While it was initially expected that pending bypolls in J&K would be scheduled alongside Delhi assembly elections in February 2025, the ECI held that it was not possible to do so due to snowy conditions and inclement weather in J&K at that time. The ECI then had indicated that the bypolls would be held before the April 20, 2025, deadline, within six months of the vacancies having arisen. However, it missed that dateline and is learnt to have accordingly jointly "certified" with the Centre of its inability to hold the bypolls within the six-month time frame and then sought extension of the timeline.

The April 22 Pahalgam attack put a fresh roadblock given heightened security conditions. The bypoll delay issue, in fact, has landed in the J&K High Court as well and is currently sub-judice.

ET gathers, however, that the poll panel is finally preparing to hold the J&K bypolls with Bihar, before the winter sets in. In fact, ground preparations for the bypolls have already been completed in J&K over the last few months. The Special Summary Revision (SSR) in the two assembly constituencies was also started on April 8 and concluded by April 24. The final electoral roll for the two constituencies were also published on May 5. In case of the four vacant Rajya Sabha seats, the ECI's pitch for a presidential reference in the case, to ensure that the term of all four seats follows the principle of rotation and are not concurrent (as is presently the case) could not go through. Accordingly, ECI will soon be holding the overdue RS election for J&K, it is gathered.

All four RS members representing J&K completed their term in February 2021 - former MPs Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmad Laway closed their tenure on February 15 while Mir Muhammad Fayaz and Shamsher Singh Manhas's term also came to end on February 10.