Four years after it saw a significant exodus of its leaders, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is now again facing discontent in the party ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Indian Express reported.
Several PDP leaders had earlier left the party after they were denied tickets, with some others quitting it as they were unhappy with the “direction” of the party. However, the reason for the trouble brewing in the party this time is the opposite – the return of the “turncoats who ditched the party in testing times” with the party leadership facing allegations of “ignoring the sacrifices” of those who withstood pressure in tough times.
Over the last week, the PDP has seen a spate of resignations with several senior leaders unhappy over being denied a ticket or their claims being ignored on the constituency of their choice in the polls. A former party legislator has already announced his intention to contest as an Independent. The party has announced two lists with altogether 16 candidates for the elections to the 90-member House so far.
Among the prominent PDP faces who have resigned include chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari, spokesperson Harbaksh Singh and a District Development Council (DDC) member Raja Waheed.
A journalist-turned-politician, Bukhari entered politics in 2016 when he was appointed as the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s media adviser. After he formally joined the party, he was made its chief spokesperson. A resident of Kreeri in north Kashmir, Bukhari was unhappy over the return of Basharat Bukhari, also from Kreeri, to the party.
A former minister, Basharat left the PDP after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, joined the National Conference (NC) first and then the Sajad Lone-led Peoples Conference before returning to the PDP in July this year.
While the PDP is yet to announce its candidate for the Kreeri-Wagoora seat, Basharat’s return to the PDP appears to have dashed Bukhari’s hopes of a ticket from the constituency.
“Those who stood with the party in tough times are being sidelined, their sacrifices are being ignored. On many occasions, the party leaders who left in tough times were welcomed and given preference over those who stood firm,” Suhail said after resigning from the party on Tuesday. “The unfortunate thing is that they were not even taken on board when making such decisions.”
“Those who stood with the party in tough times are being sidelined, their sacrifices are being ignored. On many occasions, the party leaders who left in tough times were welcomed and given preference over those who stood firm,” Suhail said after resigning from the party on Tuesday. “The unfortunate thing is that they were not even taken on board when making such decisions.”
PDP sources said the decision on the return of some of these leaders was taken considering their “winnability” in the elections. “It is true that our party has an ideological foundation but to stick to that ideology and to work for its implementation, you also need to have some power,” a party insider said. “You need to have candidates who can win the elections. That’s the reason for such decisions.”
Suhail Bukhari’s deputy Harbaksh Singh cited similar reasons for his resignation. A resident of south Kashmir’s Tral, Singh was denied an Assembly ticket. The party instead fielded Rafi Ahmad Naik from Tral. Naik, the son of NC leader Ali Mohammad Naik, joined the PDP just a day before he was named a candidate.
Besides these desertions, former party legislator Ajaz Ahmad Mir announced that he will contest as an Independent from the Zainpora seat in Shopian that he won in 2014. “My voters forced me. After seeing their enthusiasm and hopes, I have decided to contest elections as an Independent candidate,” Mir said.
Mir, however, has not burnt his bridges with the party and has been silent on his resignation. “I would only say that I am contesting as an Independent. Let me win first, then only I will decide if I rejoin the party,” he said in response to a question on whether he has resigned. “I am still in shock. How could I be denied a ticket? My only complaint is that if they had discussed it with me, I would have probably agreed to it.”
Several other angry leaders have been pacified though, including former minister Abdul Rehman Bhat, also known as Abdul Rehman Veeri, and Pulwala DDC chairperson Bari Andrabi.
Veeri, who represented the Bijbehara Assembly constituency four times since 1999, has instead been fielded from the Anantnag seat with Iltija Mufti, Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, contesting from the family bastion of Bijbehara. Sources said Veeri was unhappy with the decision as he wanted to contest from only the Bijbehara seat.
Party sources said Veeri’s constituency was changed due to delimitation. “Some villages of the Bijbehara constituency, where Veeri sahib had a strong presence, are now part of the Anantnag constituency,” a party insider said. “That’s why he was shifted to Anantnag. Apparently, he was not happy with it and wanted to contest from Bijbehara but now has been pacified.”
While Veeri is a senior party leader and has been a cabinet minister under both Mufti Mohamad Sayeed and Mehbooba, he has stayed away from active politics since the abrogation of J&K’s special status. He was also conspicuously absent from Mehbooba’s Lok Sabha election campaign.
Andrabi, on the other hand, is unhappy after he was overlooked for the Pulwama seat. The PDP has instead fielded its youth wing president Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra from there. Parra, who contested the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat recently, had secured leads in the Pulwama and Rajpora Assembly segments, although he lost the election to the NC’s candidate.
While there is a disquiet in the party, it has also received a shot in the arm with the return of three former ministers and legislators – Basharat Bukhari, Abdul Haq Khan and Syed Bashir.
Though Khan left the party after 2020, he had not joined any other party. In 2014, he won the Lolab Assembly seat in Kupwara as a PDP candidate. Bashir, a former minister, left the party in 2014 when the PDP fielded Haseeb Drabu as its candidate from Rajpora. Drabu has since left the party Indian Express reported.
