PDP’s major revamp: Baig to be patron; PAC, Parl Board to be re-constituted

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and Muzaffar Baig at the party meeting in Srinagar on Monday.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and Muzaffar Baig at the party meeting in Srinagar on Monday.

Bid to overcome dissidence as 4 ex-MLAs quit
Mehbooba justifies BJP tie-up, but says Modi isn’t Vajpayee

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 10: In a major bid to overcome dissidence within the party following resignations of four former MLAs, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today decided to overcome the crisis (created by the resignations) by appointing senior leader and founder member of the party, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, as the party patron and re-constitute Parliamentary Board and Political Affairs Committee (PAC).
This and some more important decisions were taken today at the party’s high-level meeting in Srinagar, which was chaired by PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State, which was attended by top leaders of the party including Baig, who had last month raised a banner of revolt against the party and hinted at joining Sajjad Lone’s People’s Conference.
Mehbooba declared in the meeting that the PDP’s decision to ally with BJP wasn’t a mistake but an attempt to deliver what the party had promised but asserted it couldn’t Narendra Modi (the Prime Minister) didn’t turn out to be Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister,
The PDP’s significant decisions to appoint Muzaffar Baig, a sitting Lok Sabha member from Baramulla-Kupwara constituency and former Deputy Chief Minister during Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Congress-PDP coalition Government in 2005, as party’s patron assumed significance as it was aimed at arresting more dissidence within the party especially after resignations by four former MLAs, two of whom were Ministers in Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition Government.
The decision paid off as another former MLA, Javaid Hussain Baig, who too was a dissidence earlier, attended today’s meeting and the party now hoped to keep rest of its flock together by appointing a senior party leader and founder member of the party as the PDP patron as some of the MLAs had earlier charged Mehbooba with pursuing family rule in the PDP by making Tassaduq Mufti, her brother, as the Cabinet Minister and uncle Sartaj Madni as all powerful vice president.
Sources said Mehbooba Mufti was likely to stay as the party president and Baig would be the patron and enjoy powers including taking vital political decisions like the PDP’s future roadmap for both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, which were due in the next few months.
Apart from the appointment of Muzaffar Baig as the party patron, the PDP also decided to re-constitute all powerful Political Affairs Committee and Parliament Board of the party by bringing in new faces.
Both powerful political bodies of the party will be re-constituted shortly and some dissident leaders including former legislators would be accommodated in them, sources said, adding that this would arrest the dissidence within the party and stop party leaders from resigning and shifting to other parties.
The party meeting decided that it would go to both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections with new energy and zeal and focus on its agenda which it upheld even during crucial alliance with BJP. The party observed that even after aligning with the BJP, it didn’t dilute its agenda and continued to pursue it at both national and State levels.
Mehbooba Mufti, in her address, was reported to have said that the decision to ally with BJP was not a mistake but an attempt to deliver what it had promised.
“To our bad luck, we could not anticipate the attitude and Modi did not turn out to be Vajpayee,’’ she said, adding that the PDP had expectations that Modi will deliver like Vajpayee to resolve Kashmir but it didn’t happen.
She said that even the decision to ally with National Conference and Congress, which the party tried in November by forming the coalition Government to prevent Third Front of Sajjad Lone and BJP from forming the Government by engineering defections in other parties, was fraught with risks.
“There was no guarantee that such an experiment would surely succeed. You take decisions but our intention and goal was clear,’’ Mehbooba told the party leaders.
On decision of her late father and PDP patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to align with the BJP, Mehbooba said Mufti Sahib took the risk of his credibility and party image for the sake of people.
“Mufti knew that he and his party could get consumed but he had seen hope which was the only reason for forging alliance with the BJP,’’ she said.
Mehbooba took head on some party leaders who were trying to create illusions within the organization.
Mehbooba offered an olive branch to the dissidents, who have left the party but sent loud and clear message to those also, who were planning to quit presuming that the party has become week saying she was ready to fight back with same spirit and zeal with which the party had been set up.
“My workers and leaders are my strength but I will not allow anyone to create wedge. Our hearts and doors are open to even those, who have rebelled but they are also open for those who want to leave presuming that the organization is week. I have started from zero and I’m ready to fight back with same spirit and zeal,’’ she declared.
In a stern warning to those planning to leave the party, Mehbooba said: “If you want to stay here in the PDP, stay with commitment but if anyone wants to leave for greener pastures, they should behave like a man and leave without finding the excuses’’.
In his address, Muzaffar Baig said that the party has grown over the years and “this short crisis’’ will not affect its growth. He said that he is ready to play whatever role he is assigned by the party leadership.
Most of the senior party leaders including Naeem Akhtar, Peerzada Mansoor Shah, Javaid Baig, Rafi Ahmad Mir and Nizam Din Butt among others spoke at the meeting to clear misunderstandings in the party.
During past few days, former MLAs of PDP including Imran Raza Ansari, his uncle Abid Ansari, Dr Hasseb Drabu and Abbas Wani, MLA Tangmarg have resigned from the party.
Drabu was Finance Minister in the PDP-BJP coalition Government while Ansari was also a Cabinet Minister.
Abbas Wani resigned only today from the party. Wani said he has sent his resignation letter to Mehbooba Mufti.
The PDP had 28 MLAs in the dissolved Assembly.

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