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Mehbooba Mufti not to contest J&K polls, cites assembly’s reduced powers
Mehbooba Mufti’s announcement came a day after another former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah made a U-turn on his stand of not participating in the polls till J&K was a UT
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said she will not contest the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), saying the “reduced” power of the legislative assembly in the union territory would not allow her to fulfil her party’s agenda even if she were to become the chief minister.
Mufti’s announcement came a day after another former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah made a U-turn on his stand of not participating in the polls till J&K was a union territory.
“Omar himself said that he will have to be at the door of the (lieutenant) governor for transfer of a peon. I am not bothered about the transfer of the peon but can we implement our agenda?” Mufti told reporters.
“I have been chief minister of a government with the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) which revoked FIRs against 12,000 persons (in 2016). Can we do that now? I, as the chief minister of a government with (PM) Modi, wrote a letter to separatists to invite them for talks. Can you do that today? I got a ceasefire (implemented) on ground. Can you do that today? If you cannot take back an FIR as chief minister, what does one do with such a post?” she added.
Mehbooba Mufti became the first woman chief minister of J&K in April 2016 to lead the PDP-BJP government after the death of incumbent CM and her father Mufti Mohammad Sayed.
PDP spokesperson Mohit Bhat said the party chief’s decision not to contest the assembly polls was final. “She won’t file her nomination from anywhere,” Bhat said.
There were speculations of Mufti contesting the upcoming polls, especially after Omar Abdullah on Tuesday changed his stance and decided to contest from Ganderbal constituency in central Kashmir, where polling is scheduled for September 25.
The assembly elections in J&K, the first in a decade, are being held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. These are the first assembly polls since the abrogationof Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhilestate into two Union territories of J&K and Ladakh in August 2019. In June this year, the Centre widened the scope of J&K lieutenant governor’s powers on key administrative and legal matters — ranging from police and public order to postings and prosecution sanction.
