The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (October 12, 2025) announced the names of candidates for the three Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir. The party has fielded Muslim leader Ghulam Mohammad Mir, Rakesh Mahajan, and Satpal Sharma. 

BJP’s decision to nominate Ghulam Mir from the Kashmir Valley is seen as a strategic move to reach out to the Muslim community. The seats in Jammu and Kashmir have been left vacant since February 2021. The voting is now scheduled to take place on October 24, 2025. It is the first Rajya Sabha biennial polls since the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019.

The 90 members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will vote on October 24. The ruling Jammu-Kashmir National Conference had already released the list of three candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypolls – Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Sajad Kichloo, and Shammi Oberoi. The last date of filing nominations is Monday, October 13, 2025.