People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday agreed to back National Conference (NC) candidate Shammi Oberoi in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for October 24, following a direct appeal from NC president Farooq Abdullah.
According to news agency ANI, she said, “They’re (National Conference) not worthy of trust, of even voting for them. But because our goal is greater…to work together to protect the rights of Jammu and Kashmir, and because the INDIA Alliance is fighting a very serious battle today, we’ve decided to vote for them (in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections)…”
#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K | PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti says, “They’re (National Conference) not worthy of trust, of even voting for them. But because our goal is greater…to work together to protect the rights of Jammu and Kashmir, and because the INDIA Alliance is fighting a very… pic.twitter.com/dyVrMbXysO
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2025
“We want our three votes to be cast in the third preference, meaning for Shammi Oberoi. But we don’t want to cast our votes in the fourth preference because if they (National Conference) lose this fourth seat, they will blame the PDP,” she added.
#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K | PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti says, “We want our three votes to be cast in the third preference, meaning for Shammi Oberoi. But we don’t want to cast our votes in the fourth preference because if they (National Conference) lose this fourth seat, they will… https://t.co/KNCeCP6DMl pic.twitter.com/3IfH9pmt2K
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2025
NC has fielded Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo, Gurwinder Singh alias Shammi Oberoi, and Imran Nabi Dar as its Rajya Sabha candidates.
As reported by The Indian Express, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that his father, Farooq Abdullah, had reached out to Mehbooba Mufti seeking her party’s support in the forthcoming Upper House elections.
“She has assured that she will take the right decision after speaking to her party colleagues,” Omar Abdullah said, expressing optimism that the NC’s nominees would emerge victorious in all four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar made these remarks after chairing the NC’s Legislative Party meeting ahead of the Assembly’s Autumn Session. The session will be followed by the Rajya Sabha vote on Friday.
While the NC’s meeting was attended by allied Independent MLAs and CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, the Congress — also a part of the ruling coalition — held a separate Legislative Party meeting earlier in the day.
Congress Opts Out of Rajya Sabha Contest
Former J&K Congress chief and incumbent Dooru MLA G A Mir told The Indian Express that the Congress had decided not to field any candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls after discussions with the NC over seat-sharing failed to yield consensus.
Mir said that initial talks between the two parties had explored sharing the first two “safe seats”, but the negotiation later narrowed down to the fourth seat for the Congress. “Eventually it came down to the fourth seat for the Congress, and we decided to opt out of it. If they (the NC) can manage three, they can manage the fourth,” Mir said.
The nine-day Autumn Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, beginning in Srinagar on Thursday, is expected to witness intense debate over the reservation issue, with the Opposition demanding that the government make the Cabinet’s report on it public.
Earlier, the J&K government had confirmed that the report on rationalisation of reservation had been finalised and that a Cabinet memo would soon be sent to the Lieutenant Governor.
Issues such as the restoration of statehood and the PDP’s proposed Bill on land rights are also anticipated to feature prominently during the session.
Political Undercurrents Ahead of RS Vote
The four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir have been vacant since 2021 due to the absence of an elected government in the Union Territory. The upcoming election, Omar Abdullah said, would serve as a test of political alignments in the region, remarking that it would reveal “who is with the BJP”.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Sajad Lone has announced that he will abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha election.
