Advantage BJP in J&K? LG’s nomination power set to alter equations in assembly, Rajya Sabha
The BJP’s political prospects in Jammu and Kashmir could receive a boost if the Lieutenant Governor (LG), Manoj Sinha, is allowed to go ahead with nominating five members to the Legislative Assembly.
This comes after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the High Court of J&K and Ladakh that the LG can make these nominations independently, without consulting an elected Council of Ministers.
Two of the nominees would come from the Kashmiri migrant community (including one woman), one from Pakistan-occupied J&K displaced persons, and two to ensure female representation. These members would have full voting rights in the assembly, which could help the BJP increase its strength and possibly secure two of the Union Territory’s four Rajya Sabha seats—rather than just one—when elections to the Upper House are eventually held.
The MHA, in an affidavit, called the nomination power a statutory function, not an executive one – meaning it remains outside the scope of the elected government’s business.
Referring to Supreme Court rulings on similar cases in Delhi and Puducherry, it argued that the LG acts under the law and not on the cabinet’s advice.
The clarification came in response to a petition by senior Congress leader Ravinder Kumar Sharma, who argued that adding nominated members above the sanctioned strength could distort the assembly’s balance of power, potentially turning a minority into a majority.
The nominations were made possible by a 2023 amendment to the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, which increased elected seats from 107 to 114 and gave the LG the authority to nominate the five members in addition.
The issue has gained weight because J&K has had no Rajya Sabha members since February 2021, despite holding four seats. In the current 90-member House, the NC-Congress alliance, with over 50 members, is set to win three of the four seats, leaving the BJP with just one. With the extra five votes from LG nominees, the BJP could aim for two seats.
Assembly elections took place nine months ago, but the Election Commission is yet to start the process for filling the Rajya Sabha seats.
Until the legal challenge is resolved, the BJP’s plan to use nominations to boost numbers remains on hold, keeping both the balance of power in the assembly and J&K’s national political voice in suspense.
The NC has planned to send party president Farooq Abdullah to the Rajya Sabha. There are other aspirants from the party hoping to get a Rajya Sabha berth from Jammu.
It remains to be seen whether the EC will announce the holding of elections for filling the Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir after the legal challenge to the LG’s power to nominate the five MLAs is settled.
India