Why are elections not being held for Rajya Sabha and Assembly seats? CM Omar Abdullah raised questions on the delay:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern over the undue delay in filling Rajya Sabha seats and holding by-elections to two assembly seats in the Union Territory.

The Union Territory, which has four seats in the Rajya Sabha, has no representation in the upper house of Parliament since February 15, 2021, the day Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nazir Ahmad Laway completed their term. Two other members, Fayaz Ahmad Mir and Shamsher Singh Manhas, completed their term on February 10 the same year.

CM Omar Abdullah demanded the Election Commission to explain the reasons for the delay and said, "We do not understand why these elections are being postponed." He was responding to questions about by-elections to two assembly seats - Nagrota in Jammu and Budgam in Kashmir as well as four vacant Rajya Sabha seats.

So the seats that fell vacant
were the Nagrota seat following the death of BJP leader Davinder Rana, who died soon after the election results were announced, while the Kashmir region seat was vacated by the chief minister, who was also contesting from Ganderbal.

'Why are elections not being held'
The Chief Minister said that since the last elections, two sessions of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly have been held, but no elections have been held for the Rajya Sabha seats yet. He said why were the Rajya Sabha elections not held? It takes a day.

'Polling cannot be postponed'
CM Abdullah said that in 2014 his government had requested for the postponement of state elections due to severe floods but was told that the polls could not be postponed 'under any circumstances'. Abdullah said, 'Today we are not asking for postponement. Two sessions of the assembly have already been held.

Emphasizing the need for representation,
he emphasized the need for representation in the Rajya Sabha, irrespective of the party affiliation. He lamented the absence of four representatives of the state in the Upper House and said that today, Jammu and Kashmir has no representation in the Rajya Sabha.