Srinagar: In a long-awaited move, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the schedule for biennial Rajya Sabha elections in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, setting the stage for an important political milestone. Voting is scheduled to take place on October 24, 2025, between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, with counting of votes the same day at 5:00 PM.
As per the ECI notification issued on Tuesday, the election process will officially commence on October 6 with the release of the notification. The last date for filing nominations is October 13, and scrutiny will be held on October 14.
The elections aim to fill four Rajya Sabha seats that have been vacant since February 2021, previously held by Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Nazir Ahmed Laway. These vacancies persisted due to the lack of a valid electorate following the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir in 2019 under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which created two Union Territories: Jammu & Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature).
Now, with the recent constitution of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, the electoral college required for Rajya Sabha elections is finally in place, allowing the long-delayed process to move forward.
The ECI clarified that the four vacancies will be filled through three separate elections: one each for the members who retired on February 10, 2021, and a combined election for the two who retired on February 15, 2021. This move is in line with a 1994 Delhi High Court ruling, which allows separate elections for seats that were originally categorized differently.
However, the ECI also noted that the tenure of the newly elected members will depend on the outcome of a pending Supreme Court case—SLP(C) No. 17123/2015 (Election Commission of India vs. Devesh Chandra Thakur & Others)—which may influence how future Rajya Sabha elections are interpreted legally.
