JAMMU : Lady luck has smiled again on People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who took over as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister today, having been at the helm from 2002 to 2005.
Just two days back, the PDP leader had himself stated, ” history seldom gives a second chance.” Sayeed had to step down from office to pave way for Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad as the PDP and the Congress then had an understanding to share power for three years each.
He becomes the Chief Minister for the second time as part of the coalition with the BJP after the PDP emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly elections in last December winning 29 seats in the 87-member house followed by the saffron party which cornered 25 seats. Born at Bijehara in Anantnag district of South Kashmir on January 12, 1936, Sayeed started his political career in 1952 after completing his MA LLB.
He later joined the National Conference (NC) headed by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and was elected as MLA in 1962. However, he left the NC and joined the Indian National Congress (INC). The former Chief Minister, who won from Anantnag constituency in 2008 and 2014, was known among one of the few leaders in Jammu and Kashmir who made INC as a major political force in the state by opposing the NC.
Sayeed was an MLA from 1967-72, Deputy Minister 1967-70, cabinet minister 1972-75 and later MLC in 1979. He became state minister in the Congress Party government in 1971.
However, his political success saw steep downturn when he lost two consecutive elections on Congress ticket. But he organised the people to uproot the NC government in 1984, when Ghulam Mohammad Shah became CM with the support of Congress.
The PDP chief also headed INC several years in the state before his association with the Congress came to an end in 1987 when he joined Jan Morcha, led by V P Singh and become the Union Home Minister in 1989.
In 1989, within a few days of taking office as the Union Minister, his third daughter Rubaiya Sayeed was kidnapped by militants. She was freed in exchange for the release of five militants.
He joined the Congress again under the leadership of Narasimha Rao, However, he left the party in 1999 and formed PDP in the state.
Sayeed became the Chief Minister of the state from October 2002 to November 2005 after his alliance with the INC, though his party had won just 18 seats. He had not contested the 2002 assembly poll. Sayeed survived a number of militant attacks in the valley and visited South East Asian countries as member of Indian goodwill mission in 1965.
(AGENCIES)
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