People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has said she would not contest in the coming assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir, since given the current situation, it is not possible to implement her party's agenda even if she becomes the Chief Minister. Instead, her daughter, Iltija Mufti, will be making her electoral debut this time.
"I have been Chief Minister of a government with the BJP which revoked FIRs against 12,000 persons (in 2016). Can we do that now?" news agency Press Trust of India quoted him as saying.
"As the Chief Minister of a government with (PM) Modi, I wrote a letter to separatists to invite them for talks. Can you do that today? I got a ceasefire (implemented) on ground. Can you do that today? If you cannot take back an FIR as Chief Minister, what does one do with such a post?" news agency Press Trust of India quoted him as saying.
Asked about National Conference chief Omar Abdullah's change of heart about contesting the assembly polls, she said, "Omar himself said he would have to be at the door of the Lieutenant-Governor for the transfer of a peon. I am not bothered about the transfer of the peon but can we implement our agenda?"
Asked about the lack of any pre-poll alliance for the party at a time when the Congress and the National Conference have joined hands, Ms Mufti said, "We have always fought alone".
"Ever since our party was formed in 1999, we have fought alone. We fought with the help of the people. To help people. We were part of the Congress, I was a CLP leader, Mr Mufti (her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) was an MP. But we left and formed such a platform so we could end teb sufferings of the people," she added.
In their election manifesto, the PDP has promised efforts to restore Articles 370 and 35A -- which gave the state its special status -- initiate diplomatic dialogues between India and Pakistan, and ensure the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir Valley.
In the 2014 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference won 15, and the Congress won 12. The PDP won 28 seats and formed government with the BJP. But the alliance between the two parties with disparate ideologies fell through in 2018 and Jammu and Kashmir was placed under President's Rule.
In 2019, the state's special status granted under the constitution was scrapped and it was split into two Union Territories.