Now, PDP faces internal bickering

Weeks after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed stepped down as chief minister, his party, People’s Democratic Party, is facing internal bickerings. ...

Weeks after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed stepped down as chief minister, his party, People’s Democratic Party, is facing internal bickerings. Senior party leader and former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir has been open about his resentment with the party leadership and is reported to be holding meetings with other party leaders to chalk out a ‘future strategy’.

Sources said that Mir, who lost the race for the deputy chief ministership to Muzaffar Hussain Beig despite being senior to him, wanted to develop a ‘pressure group’ within the party. The aim of his meetings with other party leaders is for this purpose. There is a perception within the party that Mir is cosying up to the Congress leadership.

Apart from Mir some other leaders are also of the opinion that only those partymen who are considered loyal to the Mufti’s family are being promoted in the new ministry led by Congressman Ghulam Nabi Azad. Though a senior leader close to the Mufti’s denied there was dissension in the party ranks, sources said that many stalwarts, annoyed at decisions taken by the leadership after relinquishing the post of chief minister to the Congress, are holding regular meetings.

Mir, the tourism minister in the previous government, had hoped to get the post of deputy chief minister, but ended up not even getting a mininstership. ‘‘I never run after posts. Ladai to har party mein hoti hai,’’ said Mir when contacted. But his supporters are clearly unhappy at the turn of events.

‘‘How can a senior leader be ignored in this manner? This is a conspiracy to finish him as a leader,’’ said a supporter on condition of anonymity.

A few days ago, Mir deliberately stayed away form a function to felicitate Deputy Chief Minister Beig.

Mir’s supporters had also reached separately to receive their leader at the local airport, clearly indicating that all was not well in the PDP.