Jammu and Kashmir
PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with party president Mehbooba Mufti during an election rally in Anantnag.IANS

Peoples Democratic Party which was untill recently a part of the state government in J&K is seemingly disintegrating fast with some of the senior leaders and ex-ministers leaving the party.If top sources in the party are to be believed, PDP is trying  hard to hold its members together, but they are leaving one after another.

Following the exit of ex PDP legislator and minister, Basharat Bukhari, there are rumours doing the rounds that another senior member, ex-Finance minister, Altaf Bukhari is also planning to leave the party which could give a major jolt to Mehbooba Mufti's team.

Altaf besides being a confidant of PDP's founder, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed also held various portfolios during the PDP-BJP coalition in the state.

The buzz in the political circles in valley is that Altaf Bukhari who is also a sucessful entreprenueur may float a new political party in the run up to the State Assembly elections along with the few youth leaders from PDP.

Reports also suggest that few other ex-ministers and MLAs are also meeting the top brass of National Conference and Congress and are planning to join them while leaving Mehbooba Mufti's brigade.

Although, PDP has refuted such rumours, however a conspicious tweet from  the PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti points to the fact that its  arch rival in Kashmir, National Conference may be wooing the PDP MLAs to join them.

Mehbooba while referring to a cartoon carried by a Srinagar  based daily which shows Farooq Abdullah purchasing the ex-MLAs from PDP tweeted, "Not only do cartoons have the rare ability of being prescient but convey more than words possibly can! Brilliant cartoon by BAB for Srinagar Times. Roughly translates to Dr Farooq Abdullah asking for used paper , boxes, tin and MLAs to purchase. 1/2

She added, " Politics is all about expediency, permutations & combinations. Power is transient and is not something I have strived for. However , I stand firm in my commitment and resolve towards rebuilding a party I built brick by brick with my late father and its patron . 2/2

The PDP  was founded by Mufti Sayeed, the ex-Union Home minsiter and senior Congress leader  in  1998 formed the coalition government with the the Congress in 2002 while also marking its presence in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It again came to power by allying wih BJP in 2014 under the leadership of Mufti Sayeed which many equated as an "unholy alliance", and was also seen as one of the reasons for its debacle post the death of Mufti Sayeed.

After the resignations of Shia leaders, Imran Raza Ansari and Abid Ansari from the party, the cracks within the PDP became apparent and an internal revolt was already brewing. The remarks of the PDP senior leader, Muzaffar Hussain Baig that he is willing to join the third front, only fuelled the rumours of more tense days for Mehbooba. Although she suceeded in convincing Baig to return and made him the party patron, the exit of Basharat Bukhari,a  renowed broadcaster and brother of deceased journalist, Shujaat Bukhari along with another senior member on Wednesday has made it very difficult for PDP to save its ship from sinking.