PDP appoints Muzuffar Beig as party’s patron
SRINAGAR:AFTER three senior leaders quit Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and with speculations abuzz of other leaders’ plan to follow the trail, the PDP leadership went into a huddle on Monday.
At the end of the meeting founding member of PDP and Lok Sabha member from Baramulla Muzuffar Hussain Beig was nominated as party patron. The development comes after The development comes after two former cabinet ministers, Imran Reza Ansari, legislator from Pattan in north Kashmir and Haseeb Drabu, legislator from Rajpora Pulwama in south Kashmir, and Abid Ansari, ex legislator from Zadibal in Srinagar, have already resigned from the party. While Ansari duo have joined Peoples Conference led by Sajjad Lone, Drabu has kept his cards close to chest.
“Muzuffar Hussain Beig is party patron now,” confirmed a PDP spokesman, soon after the meeting ended. As per sources, other top party leaders are contemplating to leave the party in the coming few days.
Chaired by former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, besides, other senior leaders, the meeting was held at the official residence of Mufti.
Beig had earlier hinted at leaving the party for not participating in the local body and panchayat elections following which he was visited by the former CM at his house in Srinagar last week.
Sources said the leaders discussed the past and speculative resignations and its consequences on the upcoming elections.
“It was a routine meeting and several issues related to the party and resignations and upcoming elections came up for discussion,’’ a senior PDP leader who was part of the meeting said. He also mentioned that the party has decided to speed up mass contact program of the party leadership with its grass root workers. Giving the party meeting a skip on Monday, former minister Bashaarat Bukhari, who was legislator from Sangrama in north Kashmir, had called a private meeting of his prominent workers few days back and sought their opinion about leaving the party. There are speculations that Bukhari may join the National Conference (NC).
FORMER PDP LEGISLATOR RESIGNS
Meanwhile, another former legislator and ex assembly member, Gulmarg, Mohammad Abas Wani also resigned from the basic membership of the party. Wani had rebelled along with former minister Imran Reza Ansari soon after BJP withdrew its support to government. They had blamed Mehbooba Mufti of turning the issue into a family fiefdom.