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PDP elects Mehbooba Mufti as party chief for another term
The party was formed by Mufti’s father and former J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 1999 after leaving the Congress. PDP went on to form the government along with the Congress in 2003 and later, in 2015, with the BJP
Mehbooba Mufti was elected as the president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for another term on Monday.
Like the earlier party chief election more than three years ago, Mufti was elected unanimously.
“Mehbooba Mufti was unanimously re-elected as JKPDP president for a period of three years. Her name was proposed by senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Hanjura and seconded by Khurshid Alam. Senior leader AR Veeri was the chairman of party election board under whose supervision the election was held,” PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said.
The party was formed by Mufti’s father and former J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 1999 after leaving the Congress. PDP went on to form the government along with the Congress in 2003 and later, in 2015, with the Bharatiya Janta Party.
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However, many of the founding members have left the PDP, some to join new political parties. The latest to leave the PDP was party patron Muzuffar Beigh who left along with his wife Safeena Beigh after the latter was denied the district development council ticket from north Kashmir last year.
In her new tenure, Mufti’s task will get tougher as she tries to reorganise her party which saw many leaders leave post August 5, 2019, for a new political front led by Altaf Bukhari was a close associate at one point.
Mufti has started travelling to different regions of J&K, addressing meetings and trying to bring new faces to PDP. Despite massive defections, the party is still strong in south Kashmir and managed to win 27 DDC seats in the recently concluded elections.
PDP senior leader and spokesperso, Tahir Sayeed said Mufti is a fighter and has faced many challenges. “The situation in J&K has changed and she will try to hold the party together. The recent DDC wins are an indication that the party is still strong. She has worked very hard and everyone in PDP looks up to her.”
Political analysts say Mufti will try to bring in new faces, especially those who won’t leave PDP even in the absence of power. “The party has been weakened and the leadership has to revamp it and get more people into the fold. It has lost many big leaders but it still managed to win a good number of seats in Kashmir,” pointed out Aseem Mohideen, editor of a local newspaper.
