Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not appoint authorised agents to verify whom its MLAs voted for in the 2025 Rajya Sabha elections, which witnessed unprecedented cross-voting that enabled the Bharatiya Janata Party to win a seat.
In response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act, 2009, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the J&K Assembly Secretariat revealed that seven authorized agents were appointed by three political parties: four from the National Conference, two from the Bharatiya Janata Party, and one from the Congress.
While independents are not required to show their votes to anyone, party-affiliated legislators must show their marked ballot papers to authorized agents before placing them in the ballot box.
The RTI response further reveals that no other authorized agents were appointed for the 2025 Rajya Sabha elections. It makes clear that the PDP, which has three MLAs, didn’t appoint authorized agents to verify whom its legislators voted for.
As per Rule 39AA of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, when a legislator belonging to a political party casts their vote in the Rajya Sabha elections, the presiding officer must allow the party’s authorised agent to check the vote before the ballot paper is placed in the ballot box.
The Rules further state that if a legislator refuses to show their marked ballot paper, the presiding officer (or a polling officer under their direction) will take back the ballot paper. After being taken back, the presiding officer must record on its back the words “Cancelled: voting procedure violated” and sign below.
All such ballot papers are to be kept in a separate cover marked “Ballot papers: voting procedure violated” and are not to be counted.
The Rules and clarifications issued by the Election Commission of India mandate that every political party, whose members (MLAs) cast votes, must appoint authorized agents-regardless of whether the party has fielded its own candidate.
The RTI response has raised questions about why the PDP, which fielded candidates in four past Rajya Sabha elections and sent three MPs to the House, did not appoint authorized agents.
At the time of the Rajya Sabha polls in October 2025, the PDP had only three MLAs in the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly.
Questions on Congress
The appointment of only one authorized agent-who was himself a sitting MLA-by Congress has also raised questions.
The disclosure makes it clear that authorised agent of Congress, Nizamuddin Bhat did not show his marked ballot paper to any agent before placing it in the ballot box, because no second agent was appointed by the party.
In the Rajya Sabha polls, eight MLAs who had pledged support to the ruling NC voted in a manner that helped the BJP secure one seat, even though it was short of two votes to secure victory—(KNO)
