On the 25th foundation day of the party, former Chief Minister and president of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti gave a message to the ruling BJP and opposition parties against undermining her party.
The Peoples Democratic Party was founded in 1999 by the late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and within three years after its formation party captured power in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir by entering into alliance with the Congress in 2002.
"Those who are thinking that PDP is politically finished should go through the result of recently held Lok Sabha elections", Mehbooba said while addressing a function to mark the 25th foundation day of the party at Srinagar.
"Youth wing president of the PDP, who was falsely implicated and lodged in jail for many months, has secured more two lakh votes from the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency which is a clear indication of the relevance and strength of our party", she said.
PDP contested elections in three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir Valley. Mehbooba Mufti, who was the party candidate in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha, secured 240042 votes.
From Srinagar Lok Sabha seat party candidate Wahid Parra got 1,68,450 votes. Party candidate Mir Mohammad Fayaz got 27,488 votes on the Baramulla Parliamentary seat.
Mehbooba fighting alone to retain PDP's political space
Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is now fighting a lone battle to maintain the People's Democratic Party's (PDP) relevance in Jammu and Kashmir's political landscape, as nearly all senior leaders have departed after their stints in power.
On November 2, 2002, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed made history by becoming the Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, just three years after founding the PDP. Established on July 28, 1999, by Mufti Sayeed and a group of loyalists, the PDP quickly rose to power by 2002. Despite having only 16 MLAs, Mufti formed a coalition government with the Congress party, which held 20 seats.
The PDP's meteoric rise in Jammu and Kashmir politics was unprecedented, but its decline has been equally swift. In just three years, the party is now on the brink of extinction. Apart from Mehbooba Mufti and Abdul Rehman Veeri, all of Mufti Sayeed's original associates have abandoned the party.
Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, a co-founder of the PDP and former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, resigned on November 14, 2020. The list of prominent leaders who have left the PDP is extensive. For instance, Tariq Hamid Karra, a founding member and former Finance Minister, resigned on September 16, 2016.
Following the breakup of the PDP-BJP alliance on June 19, 2018, senior leaders rushed to leave the party. In June 2018, the PDP boasted five MPs (three in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha), 28 MLAs, and 14 MLCs, along with a strong grassroots organization. Now, only a handful of former legislators remain within the party.
