A day after National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah was named the party candidate from the Ganderbal assembly seat – reversing her earlier announcement of not contesting the election – Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said she stands firm on her decision to stay away from the fray.PDP sources admitted that Mufti, who remains the main face of her party, was also requested to contest the election.
With the NC and Congress in alliance, the PDP – which is part of the India Bloc with them – is left on its own. The PDP has also been weakened following the frequent exits of its leaders and failed to win a single seat in the recent Lok Sabha elections, with Mufti herself losing from Anantnag-Rajouri.
Also read: There is chaos in Kolkata, Governor Bose is going to meet Home Minister Amit Shah, what big thing is going to happen in Bengal?
mehbooba muftireiterated that he would not contest the electionwill fight
On Wednesday, Mufti reiterated that she will not contest the election, telling the media that she cannot aspire to lead a Union Territory after being the CM of a state that “has a powerful assembly”.
Muftisaid that“Now the assembly has become like a municipality. You cannot pass laws… As Umar sahab said, you cannot even transfer a peon, and if someone comes to me and demands the release of a person, I will not be able to do it.”
ageAbdullah said thatdid not want to contest the election as the Lieutenant Governor had new powers
In an interview to the Indian Express just before the elections were announced, Omar had said that now with the Lieutenant Governor having new powers, the CM would have to petition him for every small thing.
A party source said: “At a time when the PDP is perhaps at its lowest ebb, still reeling from the fallout of its alliance with the BJP in 2014 and, more recently, the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, it would be prudent for Mehbooba ji to lead us. However, she had pledged not to contest elections in the current scenario and she does not want to go back on her word.”
Both Omar and Mufti have said since 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated and J&K was made a Union Territory, that they will not contest any assembly elections without restoration of statehood.
Also read: Andhra Pradesh: Big blow to Jagan Mohan Reddy, two Rajya Sabha MPs resign, 6 more may leave
On his change in stance, Omar said he did not want to ask his colleagues to contest elections when the impression was being created that the assembly they were fighting for was powerless. This time Mufti’s daughter Iltija is contesting from her family’s Bijbehara assembly seat. On Wednesday, Mufti said that for him, “our agenda is most important.”
On the PDP being isolated after the alliance of NC and Congress, he said: “We have always fought alone. We are following our agenda – peace with honour. Whether someone walks with us or not, people should stay with us.” He also said that “Kashmir issue is where it was and cannot be ignored. Restoring Article 370 is important to solve it.”
The PDP chief spoke about the decisions her government had taken – even when it was in alliance with the BJP – to underline that this would not be possible for any new government. She said as CM she had cancelled FIRs against 12,000 people in 2016, ensured implementation of the ceasefire and opened roads for people across the LoC to meet their relatives.
Mufti also spoke about the other tenures of PDP in power and the steps taken during that time. “When we formed an alliance with Congress in 2002, our agenda was to abolish POTA, release prisoners including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik from jail. Can you think of it today?
She informed that when we formed an alliance with the BJP in 2014, we had an alliance agenda in which we had said in writing that Article 370 will not be touched, AFSPA will be removed, talks will be held with Pakistan and Hurriyat, control of power projects will be given back to Jammu and Kashmir, among other things. Mufti said that unlike her party’s agenda and commitment to its concerns “beyond power”, the Congress and NC had formed an alliance “for power”.
