Emerged as a strong regional force after the 2002 assembly elections in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Panthers Party is on the verge of extinction within a year after the death of its founder Bhim Singh.
Except for three-time MLA and former Minister Harsh Dev Singh, all senior leaders of the Panthers Party have deserted their parent organizations and joined other political groups for better political prospects.
Although Panthers Party leader and son of Bhim Singh claimed that his party would contest all the 200 seats in the coming assembly elections in Rajasthan, the party leadership is struggling to preserve its identity in Jammu and Kashmir where it was founded.
In the 2002 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Panthers Party won an all-time high of four seats and the party became part of the PDP-Congress coalition headed by late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. As part of the coalition party also managed to get two seats in the Legislative Council also.
Recent statements given by Panthers Party leaders, especially Ankit Love have raised a big question about the ideology of the party, which is already on the verge of extinction within one year after the demise of its founder Bhim Singh.
Once a firebrand leader of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Prof Bhim Singh breathed his last on May 31, 2022, after a prolonged illness.
Not only the Panthers' Party is on the verge of extinction but the party is also facing identity and ideological crises as its leaders are giving statements that are against the core of the party's nationalist ideology.
Most of the leaders have already deserted Panthers Party
Most of the Panthers Party leaders, except Harsh Dev Singh, have quit the party. While two-time MLA from Udhampur Balwant Singh Mankotia has joined the BJP, another party leader and former minister Yashpal Kundal appears to be comfortable in the Aam Aadmi Party.
Faqir Nath, another ex-MLA of the party has already quit the Panthers Party before the demise of Prof. Bhim Singh.
Infighting at the party was already going on but the recent letter written by Ankit Love further compounded the ugly infighting Ankit Love has accused his cousins namely Mrignayani Slathia and her brother Vilakshan Singh of murdering his parents at the behest of the BJP.
Panthers Party split into two factions after the death of Bhim Singh
As reported earlier, after the death of Bhim Singh on May 31, 2022, the party split into two groups. Vilakshan Singh was elected president of the party at a meeting chaired by Jay Mala, but a separate faction that claimed to include all executive members of the party elected P K Ganjoo as its president.
In March this year, P K Ganjoo was expelled from the primary membership of the party on Friday by Ankit Love- chief patron of the Panther Party.
Ganjoo was expelled for spreading miss information and grossly violating the party constitution. Ankit Love further warned any other party members that continue to associate with him are expelled too.
Before the death of Prof. Bhim Singh, almost all senior leaders deserted the party due to serious differences between former Minister Harsh Dev Singh and former MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia.
As reported earlier, before his demise Prof Bhim Singh helplessly witnessed the disintegration of the Panthers Party which he had floated in 1982. One of the oldest political parties of the J&K-Panthers Party is facing an identity crisis.
On May 7, 2022 three-time MLA and former education minister Harsh Dev Singh joined the AAP in Delhi. Harsh Dev Singh is the chairman of the Panthers Party.
Before joining Harsh Dev Singh, two former legislators of the party Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yash Paul Kundal had joined the party in New Delhi on April 10, 2022
Mankotia is a two-time MLA from Udhampur and resigned from the Panthers Party in February 2021, citing a "family issue". Kundal, another Panthers Party leader, is also a two-time MLA and former minister.
