PDP president and J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is under pressure to reconsider her coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The shrinking base of the PDP in South Kashmir and other parts of the valley has rattled many of her MLAs who have voiced their concern against continuing the alliance with the national party.
Post the death of former CM and Mehbooba’s father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a “new ring” has emerged around CM Mufti comprising most of her relatives including Deputy Speaker Sartaj Madni, Minister of State Farooq Andrabi and her brother Tasaduq Mufti. This family “caucus” has created a lot of “misunderstanding”, party insiders told this newspaper.
Sources close to the PDP high command said that this “new group of family members” wanted the induction of Sartaj Madni, and Farooq Andraabi, both close relatives of CM Mehbooba, into the Cabinet. With bypolls for the two parliamentary segments of Anantnag and Srinagar scheduled this year, the importance of party leaders has increased in these two parliamentary segments. Tariq Hameed Karra, who was sitting MP from Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency, resigned because of excessive coercion on the people during the 2016 unrest. He joined the Congress on Saturday.
In order to keep her flock together, Mehbooba Mufti on Friday inducted MLA of Amira Kadal, Altaf Ahmad Bukhari back into the Cabinet. But soon thereafter, she received resignation letters from two senior ministers of the PDP, Syed Basharat Bukhari and Moulana Imran Raza Ansari. In South Kashmir, the PDP has more than one trouble in hand. Kokernag MLA Abdul Rahim Rather is already facing public anger and another dropped minister Abdul Majeed Padroo has started “pressurising” the party to re-induct him.