The BJP has announced that all five nominated MLAs in the Jammu Kashmir assembly will be from the party.
Sofi Yusuf, BJP Vice-President for the region, confirmed the nominees as Ashok Kaul, Rajni Sethi, Sunil Sethi, Dr. Fareeda Khan, and Sanjita Dogra.
The three-phase elections concluded on October 1, with the results expected on October 8.
“We have a government at the centre, so we will decide who the nominated MLAs are and we already have decided it that we have 5 nominated members from the party,” Sofi Yousuf said.
The five individuals nominated by the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to the Jammu Kashmir Assembly may play a decisive role in forming the next government in the union territory, sources revealed today.
The Congress, National Conference, and PDP have strongly opposed these nominations, arguing that they should only occur after a government is formed.
They have threatened to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the LG is empowered to nominate assembly members to represent women and marginalized groups, such as Kashmiri migrants and PoJK refugees. An amendment in 2023 further expanded these provisions.
These nominated members will possess equal powers and voting rights as other MLAs. The Congress condemned this move, with senior vice president Ravinder Sharma stating, “We oppose the nomination of five MLAs by the LG before the government formation in Jammu and Kashmir. Any such move is an assault on democracy, the people’s mandate, and the fundamental principles of the Constitution.”
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah voiced similar concerns, emphasizing, “The LG should first of all stay away from this process as a government is being formed. It is for the government to nominate people and send it (nominations) to the LG. That is the normal procedure. If they give powers to the LG, we will go to the Supreme Court. What is the point in making the government if the Lord Sahib remains here?”
PDP leader Iltija Mufti also criticized the move, calling it “brazen pre-result rigging” and asserting, “All of the five MLAs nominated by the LG are BJP members or associated with the party. This is brazen manipulation and a shameful attempt to rig the results.”
For the first time, these five nominated members could significantly influence government formation in J&K, sources said. If these nominations occur before the government formation, the assembly’s strength would rise to 95, increasing the majority threshold to 48 seats.
The Jammu Kashmir assembly setup mirrors Puducherry’s, where nominated members hold equal voting rights as elected MLAs. In a similar case in 2018, the Supreme Court upheld Puducherry LG’s authority to nominate members without consulting the local government, setting a precedent for LG powers in union territories.
The inclusion of these five nominated members will increase the total number of seats in the assembly to 95.
The BJP’s strategy could prove decisive if the assembly results in a hung verdict, as exit polls suggest.
Exit polls indicate a tight race, with the NC-Congress alliance predicted to win between 31 and 50 seats, while the BJP is projected to secure 20 to 32 seats.
Independents may play a critical role, as they are forecasted to gain a significant number of seats.
The election, the first since 2014, is set to be a decisive moment for the union territory.