NC, PDP in war of words over Rajya Sabha polls, closure of seminary, ‘sidelining’ Urdu

Ruling National Conference (NC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) engaged in a war of words over the Rajya Sabha elections and the closure of the seminary-cum-school in Kashmir.

“Those who aided the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls were exposed through Right To Information (RTI). No one in my party will act against the organisation,” said J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who inaugurated a multi-purpose sports complex at Government Degree College, Tangmarg, in north Kashmir.

In October 2025, J&K held three rounds of polling for four Rajya Sabha seats. According to data from the Election Commission of India (ECI), the third round had the highest invalid votes at three out of 87 cast. BJP’s Sat Sharma managed 32 votes, four more than their strength and the NC candidates, Shammi Oberoi bagged 31 votes and Imran Nabi Dar got 21 votes. In the third round, which was won by the BJP, NC lost seven votes, with four cross voting and three votes found invalid.

According to an RTI, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had three votes, had not appointed polling agents. The party had publicly offered support to the NC. However, the NC now casts aspersions on the voting pattern of the PDP.

The PDP accused the ruling NC of using the issue as diversionary tactics. “This is not fundamentally about the Rajya Sabha – it serves as a diversion from substantive concerns, notably the Siraj-ul-Aloom controversy and the erasure of Urdu from official records,” said PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra.

The PDP accused the NC of disintegrating the Peoples Agenda for the Gupkar Declaration, an amalgam of parties in J&K formed after the Centre ended the special status in 2019.

Mr. Parra said the PDP president showed magnanimity and decided “neither to abstain or impose conditions”.

“Rather than dwelling on the one lost Rajya Sabha seat and attributing blame to the PDP, the government would do well to focus on ensuring that your pre-existing 50 MLAs and five MPs deliver effective governance,” said Mr. Parra.

Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti accused the NC of dragging the holy Quran into political rivalry. “I wish the NC leaders would have opened their mouths when the Waqf Bill was passed. They would have spoken up when Siraj-ul-Uloom School was closed,” said Ms. Mufti.

She accused the NC of remaining silent over the surveillance of mosque committees, maulvis, and imams, besides the alleged “destruction” of the Urdu language.

“People’s houses are being demolished in the name of drug peddlers. Before that, the houses of militant sympathisers were demolished. Employees are being fired from government jobs. They are watching a spectacle,” she added.