5 members to be nominated by LG to JK Assembly may play crucial role in govt formation

In August 2019, Article 370 -- which gave Jammu and Kashmir special status -- was revoked and the state was divided into two union territories. According to section 15 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, "Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (3) of section 14, the Lieutenant Governor of the successor Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir may nominate two members to the Legislative Assembly to give representation to women, if in his opinion, women are not adequately represented in the Legislative Assembly".

The Act was amended in 2023. The amendment says: "After section 15 of the principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted, namely: 15A. Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) of section 14, the Lieutenant Governor of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir may nominate not more than two members, one of whom shall be a woman, from the community of Kashmiri Migrants, to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly".

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, labelling any such move as an assault on democracy and the fundamental principles of the Constitution.

"We oppose the nomination of five MLAs by the LG 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 would go to the Supreme Court if the BJP-led Centre went ahead to give powers to the LG for nominating the five members to the assembly.

"The LG should first of all stay way 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 (give powers to LG), 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 said giving power to the Lieutenant Governor to nominate five members to the assembly was 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," Iltija Mufti 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 LG 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 two members to the UT assembly without consulting the then Congress-led government was challenged in 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 upheld it and found no illegality in the LG nominat8ing the member.