E-Paper
PDP appoints in-charges for 14 constituencies as part of J&K assembly polls prep
While nine constituency in-charges have been nominated for Kashmir division, five have been appointed on five segments of Jammu
Swinging into action ahead of the impending assembly polls, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday nominated more than dozen leaders as in-charges of 14 assembly constituencies in the UT.
While nine constituency in-charges have been nominated for Kashmir division, five have been appointed on five segments of Jammu. The UT has 90 assembly seats, 47 in Kashmir 43 in Jammu.
In the last assembly elections which were held a decade ago in 2014, the PDP had emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 25 seats. The two then formed a coalition government, which fell in June 2018 after BJP pulled support forcing then chief minister (CM) Mehbooba Mufti to resign.
With the Election Commission of India team arriving in Kashmir on Thursday, there is every likelihood that the assembly polls will be held in the next couple of months — the first assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370 and delimitation exercise.
PDP as a precursor to the assembly polls appointed its 14 leaders as constituency in-charges across Jammu and Kashmir. Most leaders appointed are young and have joined the party post the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
A party spokesperson in a statement said party president Mehbooba Mufti and general secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjoora issued names of 14 leaders as constituency in-charges.
The names include former minister Asiea Naqash for Hazratbal, Abdul Qayoom Bhat for Shaltang, former legislator Firdous Ahmed Tak for Kishtwar, Mohammad Yasen Bhat for Chadoora, former minister Zahoor Ahmed Mir for Pampore, former MP Fayaz Ahmed Mir for Kupwara, Mohammad Amin Dar for Kulgam, Shabir Ahmed Mir for Tangmarg, Yawar Banday for Shopian, Zuhaib Yousuf Mir for Lal Chowk, Shamim Ganai for Poonch-Haveli; Verinder Singh Sonu for Bahu Jammu, Rajinder Manhas for Samba-Jammu and Narender Sharma for RS Pura assembly segment.
A top PDP leader said the in-charges for the remaining constituencies will also be declared in the coming days, adding, “This time, the party has introduced many new faces.”
After the exit of dozens of big leaders, including former legislators and ministers soon after the abrogation of Article 370, the PDP was left weakened, in north Kashmir and Srinagar in particular. However, several leaders who had quit the party have begun to return. In the last five months, two former legislators and a former MP returned to the party fold. Many former leaders are in talks with the party high command for their entry. Most PDP leaders had joined the Apni Party, formed by former minister Altaf Bukhari.
“There is every possibility that many former leaders will return to the party. The leaders who quit the party and party also need them to strengthen its base,” a senior leader who is holding talks with a few former party leaders, said.
While the party did not win any of three Lok Sabha seats it contested from Kashmir in the Lok Sabha elections this year, it emerged as runner up in Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri. The performance has given party leadership hope that it could perform well if more leaders return, especially in north Kashmir.
The entry of two former leaders, Fayaz Mir and former minister Syed Basharat Bukhari, has made the party stronger in the assembly seats of Kupwara and Sangrama. Some party leaders are eyeing to bring back former ministers Haq Khan, former deputy CM, Muzaffar Baig, his wife DDC chairperson Safina Baig, former legislator Yasir Reshi, former legislator Nizamudin Bhat back in the party to strengthen the base in north Kashmir.
In the last assembly election, PDP had won seven assembly seats in north Kashmir, however in recently concluded Lok Sabha polls PDP candidate and former MP Fayaz Mir got less than 50,000 votes and lost his deposit. It had at the time compelled the party leadership to hold talks with former estranged leaders who held some sway in their constituencies.
Mufti had earlier taken a stand not to entertain former leaders who quit the party at the time or crisis, but there seems to be a shift in the stance as former legislators Basharat Bukhari and Khursheed Alam as well as former MP Fayaz Mir were welcomed back into the party fold.
