The Congress, National Conference and the PDP have opposed the nomination of the five members before government formation, and threatened to move the Supreme Court.
In August 2019, Article 370 — which gave Jammu and Kashmir special status — was revoked and the state was divided into two union territories.
The Act was amended in 2023.
It also says, “15B. Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) of section 14, the Lieutenant Governor of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir may nominate one member from displaced persons from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.”
These five nominated members will have the same powers and voting rights as other MLAs.
The Congress has already expressed it strong opposition to the nomination of five MLAs before the government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, dubbing any such move as an assault on democracy and the fundamental principles of the Constitution.
“We oppose the nomination of five MLAs by the L-G before the government formation in Jammu and Kashmir. Any such move is an assault on democracy, the people’s mandate, and the fundamental principles of the Constitution,” Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) senior vice president and chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said on Friday.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said his party might go to the Supreme Court against any such move.
“The L-G should first of all stay away from this process as a government is being formed. It is for the government to nominate people and send it (nominations) to the LG. That is the normal procedure.
“What they want to do, I do not know. However, if they do it, we will go to the Supreme Court. What is the point in making the government, if the Lord Sahib remains here? We have to fight against all this,” Abdullah said in Srinagar on Monday.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti termed the Centre’s move a “brazen pre-result rigging” of the polls.
“All of the five MLAs nominated by LG are BJP members or associated with the party. Brazen pre result rigging & shameful manipulation (sic),” she posted on X.
The sources said that for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, five nominated members of the Assembly may have a significant role in forming the new government.
The L-G is expected to nominate these members based on the advice of the Union Home Ministry, the sources said.
If the five members are nominated before the formation of the government, the J&K assembly’s strength will be 95, increasing the majority threshold to 48 seats to form a government.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is modelled on the Puducherry Assembly where three nominated members function at par with elected MLAs and have voting rights.
Former Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi’s decision to nominate three members to the UT Assembly without consulting the then Congress-led government was challenged in the Madras High Court, and later in the Supreme Court in 2017-2018.
The Puducherry Government argued that the LG ought to have consulted the chief minister before nominating the MLAs, but the top court found no illegality in the LG nominating the member.
