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Srinagar, Oct 23 (IANS) People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday announced that her party will support the National Conference (NC) for the third Rajya Sabha seat, but not for the fourth.
Mufti announced her support to the PDP in a statement following a round of talks between opposition parties ahead of the Rajya Sabha voting on October 24.
Mehbooba Mufti clarified that the three PDP MLAs would vote for the NC candidate on the third seat in a show of broader opposition unity, but did not offer unconditional support for the additional fourth seat.
“Our support is only for the third seat, not for the fourth,” Ms Mufti said, underlining that the party’s priorities are focused on protecting regional interests and ensuring balanced representation of Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament.
The NC is competing for three Rajya Sabha seats and is seeking support from allies to improve its numbers.
The Congress has opted not to contest the fourth seat, citing internal differences over electoral arithmetic and reserved seat allocation.
NC has nominated four candidates for four Rajya Sabha seats. NC candidates are Mohammad Ramzan Choudhary, Sajjad Kitchlu, Shami Oberoi and Imran Nabi Dar.
The BJP has nominated its candidates for three Rajya Sabha seats, including its Jammu and Kashmir president Sat Sharma.
While NC has a clear lead over others on three Rajya Sabha seats, BJP with 28 votes has the lead on the fourth Rajya Sabha seat. All elected MLAs of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly are eligible to cast their vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. Voting is to be held tomorrow on all four seats.
–IANS
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