SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti announced on Thursday that her party will support the National Conference (NC) in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections for the third seat from Jammu and Kashmir, but will not extend support for the fourth seat. The statement follows rounds of negotiations among opposition parties ahead of Friday’s critical Rajya Sabha voting.Kashmir History Books
Mehbooba Mufti clarified that the PDP’s three MLAs would vote for the NC candidate on the third seat in a show of broader opposition unity, but stopped short of offering unconditional backing for the additional, fourth seat. “Our support is for the third seat only and not for the fourth,” Mufti stated, underlining that the party’s priorities remain focused on preserving regional interests and ensuring a balanced representation of Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament.Kashmir History Books
The NC, which leads the opposition bloc in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, is vying for three Rajya Sabha seats and was seeking support from allied parties to bolster its numbers. The Congress has opted not to contest for the fourth seat, citing electoral arithmetic and internal differences over safe seat allocation.
With the PDP now confirming conditional backing to the NC, the battle for the final seat is expected to be closely contested, as alliances and calculations among regional parties remain fluid.
