NC and PDP cross vote in favor of BJP in RS polls

SRINAGAR: The People’s Democratic Party has dismissed the rival National Conference’s allegations that all three of its MLAs voted for the BJP in the October polls for four federal assembly seats in Kashmir.The current war of words between the NC and the PDP stems from an RTI reply stating that the Mehbooba Mufti-led party did not appoint polling agents during the RS polls, with the NC winning three seats and the BJP winning the fourth despite a lack of figures.Records show that at least four MLAs cross-voted in favor of BJP candidate Sat Sharma, who polled 32 votes against the party’s 28 in the polls held on October 24, 2025. Despite the support of 59 MPs, NC was unable to win a fourth seat.The People’s Democratic Party has three MLAs in Kashmir.For the past one week, the NC has been asking PDP MPs to take an oath on the Quran that they did not vote for the BJP. “We appointed our agents. But the People’s Democratic Party did not appoint any agent. The only way now is for the People’s Democratic Party Chairman Mehbooba Mufti NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said: “We should swear by the Quran and we will put an end to this problem.”PDP MLA Waheed Parra said the NC outcry over the Union House polls was misplaced. “This diverts attention from the substantive issues, especially the removal of Urdu from official records,” the MLA said.PDP spokesperson Mohit Bhan said the party had not even fielded a candidate in the RS polls. “Agents are appointed by candidates, not political parties. We had three MLAs at the time and since we had no one competing, it was not our task to appoint agents,” Ban said.