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| RS ELECTIONS | | Soz, Azad all set to be declared elected today | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 5: Union Minister for Water Resources and Pradesh Congress Committee president Prof Saifuddin Soz and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad are all set to be declared elected without any contest for Rajya Sabha on Friday while National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah and his senior party colleague Mohammad Shafi Uri will have to face election on February 13.
Other candidates in the fray are Syed Altaf Hussain Bukhari of the Peoples Democratic Party and Advocate Ashok Vijay Gupta of the Bhartiya Janta Party.
Friday is the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers and as such Soz and Azad are all set to be declared elected to the Rajya Sabha without any contest. Prof Soz and Ghulam Nabi Azad were the only candidates to file their papers against Notification No. 1 and 2.
Four seats of Rajya Sabha had fallen vacant on November 25 and 29 last year and elections to them couldn't be held in time as the 10th Assembly had been dissolved. The Rajya Sabha members, who had retired in November include Prof Soz and Choudhary Muhammad Aslam (both Congress), Dr Abdullah (NC) and Tarlok Singh Bajwa (PDP). In 2002, four candidates were elected to Rajya Sabha uncontested. They include Prof Soz and Azad (Congress), Dr Abdullah (NC) and Bajwa (PDP). However, Azad had quit his Rajya Sabha seat in 2006 after getting elected to the Assembly from Bhaderwah following his taking over as Chief Minister of the State on November 2, 2005. In his place, Choudhary Aslam was elected to the House of Elders.
Prof Soz had filed his papers against the seat vacated by Bajwa while Azad has filed nomination against the vacancy arising out of Prof Soz' retirement. Dr Abdullah, Muhammad Shafi Uri, Bukhari and Gupta filed papers for two seats vacated by Dr Abdullah and Choudhary Aslam.
National Conference president and three time chief minister of the state, Dr Farooq Abdullah and his party colleague Muhammad Shaffi Uri will face Peoples Democratic Party nominee treasurer, Syed Altaf Ahmad Bukhari and Ashok Vijay Gupta, a Bhartiya Jhanta Party supported Independent candidate as they filed papers against notification 3.
Given the strength of coalition partners and support of some Independent candidates, the victory of Dr Abdullah against BJP supported former advocate general is almost certain while observers believe that there would be a direct contest between Shafi Uri and Altaf Bukhari for the fourth seat, election for which are scheduled to be held on February 13.
The elections for the two seats would be held through 'open ballot system' to avoid cross voting, sources told PBI, adding that two Nominated Women MLAs in the Assembly—Bimla Luthra (NC) and Indu Pawar (Congress) will not have voting right.
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