Former J&K chief minister is meeting party workers from central as well as violence-hit south Kashmir to strengthen organisation
New Delhi: Amid a buzz of a split in the PDP, party chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has gone back to her old strategy of “connecting with people at the grassroots”.
She has launched an outreach programme of sorts by inviting MLAs and party workers to her residence in Srinagar. The first such meeting was held Sunday and was attended by party leaders from central Kashmir.
“We have asked PDP leaders and candidates who have contested or won from the constituencies to give feedback of their areas on phone. The first meeting was held with leaders from the Srinagar parliamentary constituency,” PDP spokesman Rafi Ahmed Mir told ThePrint.
“We are taking everything into consideration. (Mehbooba) Mufti wants to realign with the people and strengthen the party’s connections at the grassroots,” Mir said.
Mehbooba resigned as chief minister on 19 June after the BJP pulled out of the coalition with the PDP in the state and withdrew support to her government.
After the government fell, several PDP legislators raised a banner of revolt against Mehbooba’s leadership and accused her of nepotism and favouritism during her tenure as chief minister. Her strategy to reconnect with grassroots workers is aimed at giving a perception that PDP is still a united house.
Decoding Mehbooba’s strategy
A PDP delegation from south Kashmir’s Anantnag parliamentary constituency will meet the former CM Wednesday.
“There are 16 assembly segments in this parliamentary constituency and party workers, MLAs and the leaders would be present at the meeting,” Mir said.
Once these outreach meetings are over, Mehbooba will address public rallies across the Valley, Mir said.
South Kashmir has been on the edge since the killing of young Hizbul Mujahiddeen commander Burhan Wani in 2016. The government has so far failed to conduct the bypoll for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat which felt vacant after Mehbooba became the chief minister in April 2016. Even panchayat polls could not be held in the constituency due to security concerns.
“The situation has turned worse. Those who voted for the PDP are now angry with them. They feel betrayed after the alliance of PDP-BJP government broke,” a Shopian resident said.
“They blame PDP for the present situation where many youths have been killed due to the Centre’s muscular policy,” he added.
The break in BJP-PDP alliance is perhaps the biggest challenge Mehbooba has faced in her career after the death of her father, Mufti Mohammad Syed.
Mehbooba had last week said any attempt by the Centre to “engineer” a split in her party will have “extremely dangerous” consequences.
Her remark came amid a speculation that the BJP is trying form government in J&K with support from a section of PDP leaders.
Dismissing such reports, Mir, however, said the party wants to move ahead and restructure the organisation.
“These are things of past now. We want to move forward. Our focus now is to strengthen the party,” Mir said.
Stop referring to him as, Hizbul Mujahid een commander. Terrorists are terrorists; please don’t decorate them with fancy designations that give them any kind of legitimacy”after killing of terrorist, burhan wani.”