| PDP at crossroads, loses bastions | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 13: Recently announced results of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir came as a major setback for the Mehbooba Mufti led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as it could only win 3 seats out of 90 in the Union Territory.
An observer while talking to Early Times said, “The PDP failed to make any impact on the ground and couldn’t even retain its citadels like Shopian in South Kashmir. “Candidates who were denied PDP tickets but contested as independents garnered more votes than those endorsed by the party in both the Zainapora and Shopian constituencies,” the observer added.
He said, “Daughter of Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija Mufti, losing her debut election from Bijbehara, her mother’s native village, was a big embarrassment,” the observer said.
In the Zainapora constituency, which was previously represented by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in 2008 and former MLA Aijaz Mir in 2014, PDP’s candidate managed only 6,200 votes compared to NC’s over 28,000. Aijaz Mir, contesting as an independent, garnered over 15,000 votes, finishing second.
“Party’s influence has waned to a great extent In South Kashmir. The party’s rebel candidates received double the votes than their main contenders. In Shopian even the BJP candidate secured more votes than the PDP contestant,” the observer added.
An analyst said, “PDP adopting a hardliner approach hasn’t helped the party’s cause. The party has failed to strike a chord with the voters and it getting rejected in the areas which were considered its bastions says it all.”
“The PDP has a long way to go and there is a big possibility of the party turning into a non-entity during the next five years. It should gear up for the forthcoming Panchayat and Urban Local Body polls to maintain its presence in the political arena of J&K.” |
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