Asif Iqbal Naik
Srinagar/Jammu, October 24, 2025 – The results of the Jammu and Kashmir Rajya Sabha elections, where the ruling National Conference (JKNC) won three of the four seats and the BJP won the fourth, have brought the underlying strains in the JKNC-Congress alliance to the fore. A congratulatory tweet by Tariq Hameed Karra, the President of the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), is being widely interpreted as a subtle but sharp dig at the National Conference for its refusal to offer the Congress a “safe seat.”
In his post on X (formerly Twitter) following the declaration of results late Friday evening, Mr. Karra stated
, “Congrats to @JKNC_ for securing 3 safe seats & putting up a strong fight for the 4th unsafe seat!”
BJP’s Sat Paul Sharma, while thanking his party leadership, acknowledged that four non-BJP members had supported him by “listening to their inner voices,” a comment that is likely to intensify the debate on cross-voting.
The Context: The ‘Safe’ vs. ‘Unsafe’ Seat Row
The use of the terms “safe seats” and “unsafe seat” in Mr. Karra’s congratulatory tweet is highly contextual and references the recent breakdown in seat-sharing talks.
• Congress’s Demand: The Congress, a partner in the current J&K government, had sought one of the three Rajya Sabha seats that the JKNC’s assembly strength could comfortably ensure a victory for (the “safe seats”).
• NC’s Offer: The National Conference, however, only offered the Congress the fourth seat, which was deemed “unsafe” as winning it required securing the votes of independent and other non-aligned MLAs, making it highly vulnerable to cross-voting.
Congress Opts Out: Following the NC’s refusal to offer a safe seat, the JKPCC, led by Mr. Karra, unanimously decided to withdraw from the contest for all four seats. Karra had publicly stated on October 12, “Since the safe seat was not offered to us, we don’t want to contest on seat four.”
Karra’s Subversive Congratulation
By congratulating the NC for winning the “3 safe seats” and only “putting up a strong fight for the 4th unsafe seat,” Mr. Karra’s tweet subtly makes two political points:
1. “Safe Seats” Belonged to NC: It highlights that the seats the NC won were never truly under threat, reinforcing the Congress’s earlier complaint that the NC used its own majority to secure all the easy wins while only offering the high-risk seat to its ally.
2. BJP’s Victory on the ‘Unsafe’ Seat: The BJP’s successful win of the “unsafe” fourth seat, where they secured 32 votes against the NC’s Imran Nabi Dar’s 22, validates the Congress’s pre-poll assessment that the fourth seat was not secure enough for them to risk a candidate.
The overall outcome—JKNC (3 seats) and BJP (1 seat)—is thus being used by the Congress to underscore that the NC’s unilateral seat allocation decision not only alienated an alliance partner but ultimately failed to keep the seat away from the rival BJP.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has also reacted to the BJP’s win by questioning where their “4 extra votes” came from, suggesting cross-voting or invalid votes by opposing MLAs. However, for the Congress, the immediate focus remains the growing fissure within the alliance ahead of upcoming assembly by-polls.
