In a bold statement on Monday, October 13, 2025, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir asserted that the National Conference (NC) made a critical error by not consulting other like-minded parties before finalizing its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters in Anantnag district, a confident Mir expressed his firm belief that not a single non-BJP MLA would cast their vote for the saffron party’s nominees in the crucial polls. He highlighted that the biennial elections, aimed at filling four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir that have remained vacant since 2021, are scheduled for Friday, October 24, 2025. Additionally, a Rajya Sabha by-election will also take place on the same day to fill the vacancy left by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Sanjeev Arora’s resignation from Punjab.
Mir didn’t mince words when he reiterated, “The Chief Minister should have engaged all ideologically aligned parties before declaring their [NC’s] candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections.”
He further elaborated on the political landscape: “With 60 non-BJP MLAs in the 88-member House, I am absolutely confident that the BJP will fail to secure even one of those crucial 60 votes. They are grappling with internal dissensions, making it challenging for them to maintain unity within their own ranks.”
The Congress leader also disclosed that his party had approached their alliance partner, NC, requesting a ‘safe seat’ for the Rajya Sabha elections. However, the regional party did not respond favorably. “We initially aimed to field a candidate for one of the first three seats, but they offered us the fourth seat, which was politically precarious. Consequently, the Congress decided against fielding a candidate for that fourth seat,” Mir explained.
It’s worth noting that Jammu and Kashmir has lacked representation in the Rajya Sabha since February 15, 2021, following the conclusion of terms for Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmed Laway. Earlier that year, on February 10, 2021, Fayaz Ahmed Mir and Shamsheer Singh Manhas also completed their tenures, contributing to the prolonged vacancy.