Mehbooba Mufti re-elected PDP chief for 6th term in a row

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti was on Saturday reelected the president of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) for the sixth time in a row.

The PDP, which was founded by her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed after quitting from the Congress in 1999, is currently ruling the restive state with its ally the BJP.

Ms Mufti was elected unopposed, a party spokesperson said in winter capital Jammu. Soon after her re-election, she tweeted, “Thankful to the party in reposing their trust and electing me as their president. Will work tirelessly to fulfill our shared vision of development, inclusiveness and reconciliation in J&K.” Born on May 22, 1959, and mother of two daughters, she is the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. She was elected to the J&K Assembly for the first time in 1996 on a Congress ticket and quickly made a mark as the Leader of the Opposition in the House. However, three years later, the Muftis again split from the Congress to form their own PDP and she became its vice-president. She resigned her Assembly seat and went on to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 1999 from Srinagar but lost to National Conference Omar Abdullah. In 2002 Assembly elections, she was elected from Pahalgam segment. PDP formed a coalition government with Congress with her father as chief minister for three years on rotational basis. While Mr. Sayeed was named as PDP’s patron, his daughter was formally elected the party president. In 2004, Ms Mufti won the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat to make it to Parliament for the first time. PDP, however, failed to win a single seat in 2009 Lok Sabha elections when she did not contest herself.

Earlier in 2008 elections, she won the Wacchi segment in South Kashmir to the State Assembly. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from Anantnag again in 2014. She is serving the state as chief minister since April 4, 2016 and represents Anantnag in J&K Assembly. She replaced her father who died to multiple organ failure while in office in January that year.

Ms Mufti’s predecessor and Opposition NC working president, Omar Abdullah, while congratulating her, said that although the two do not agree much these days he would like to wish her well.