J&K gets five MLAs even before the first vote is counted; Opposition furious

For the first time in J&K, five nominated members will play a significant role in government formation. The Congress has strongly opposed the move to nominate members and accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate election results.

In Short

• In a first, Jammu & Kashmir assembly to get five nominated members
• Move termed an attack on democracy and Constitution by Congress leaders
• Congress vows to fight BJP's alleged attempt to manipulate election results

With the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election results set to be announced on October 8, the Congress vehemently objected to the nomination of five members to the assembly before the formation of the new government.

On Friday, Congress leaders called the purported move an attack on democratic principles and the Constitution and called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to refrain from approving the nomination of the five representatives.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Senior Vice President Ravinder Sharma said, “We oppose the nomination of five MLAs by the Lieutenant Governor 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."

The Congress called for nominations to occur only after the new government is in place, maintaining that any other approach would be a betrayal of the people’s mandate.

The nominations, advised by the Home Ministry and approved by the Lieutenant Governor, are part of amendments made to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. A recent revision on July 26, 2023, enables this process, expanding the assembly to 95 members and raising the majority threshold to 48 seats.

Sharma vowed that Congress would fight the move "tooth and nail," and termed it a bid by the ruling BJP to game the election in their favour. "This highlights the BJP’s desperation to manipulate numbers despite lacking the means to form a government," he added.

Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the Lieutenant Governor has the power to nominate five members, including representation for Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) and refugees from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). However, Sharma argued that the Lieutenant Governor should only act based on the advice of the council of ministers, which would form after the election.

“Misusing the nomination provision to alter the majority or minority status post-election would be detrimental,” Sharma added, calling such nominations before government formation "unconstitutional." He reiterated that the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance is expected to win a majority, and premature nominations would undermine the election’s outcome.

Sharma also criticised the BJP’s unfulfilled promises to provide adequate representation in the assembly for PoJK refugees, KPs, and other minorities. “The BJP promised fair representation, yet they are only proposing one seat for the PoJK community, compared to their earlier commitment of eight,” he said.

He referenced the Sikkim assembly model, which reserves seats for Buddhist monastic communities, as a better example of ensuring minority representation.

With PTI inputs