JK News Today
Former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig rejoined Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP the party of which he was one of the founders in July 1999 . The occasion of his rejoining the party was poignant – eighth death anniversary of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed . Mehbooba welcomed him back into the party fold , saying that Beig was her elder brother , and some ups and downs do take place in a family. But there was something more than what met the eye- this “ family reunion” had a profound political message – PDP was gradually moving back to the days of early 2015 , when it formed alliance with the BJP at the Centre.
Muzaffar Beig , who had held high posts in the first Mufti Mohammad Sayeed -led coalition government , and later as Deputy Chief Minister when Ghulam Nabi Azad , then a Congress veteran , took over as CM as per understanding of the two parties . The two parties were to have a rotational chief minister after three years . Mufti Sayeed clipped his wings when he wrote to Azad asking the important portfolio of Finance to be given to Tariq Hameed Karra, another stalwart and newly inducted minister in the government from party’s quota. Beig rebelled and resigned from the government and his relations with the Muftis became frosty. Fundamentally , Beig asserted his position because of his own belied that he can turn tide in any direction , and his proximity to Delhi was very well known. That did not change even when Congress was replaced by BJP at the Centre. Though he was elected to Lok Sabha from north Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency on the PDP candidate, but he was unhappy as he believed that he has been eased out of the state politics . That bitterness continued even after the death of Mufti Sayeed in January 2016.
What is at stake for him at this point in time and that too within the PDP. There also is a question , why has Mehbooba readmitted him into the party after having had a series of mishaps with highly ambitious and unpredictable Muzaffar Beig . Both serve the interest of each other . Beig is eyeing Lok Sabha seat from Baramulla , and contesting as an independent is not an option . He is close to BJP and the Central establishment , yet joining BJP would have been a political suicide . National Conference and other parties are unwilling to take him in their fold . So, the PDP. It is not just that he appears to have made a choice of returning to PDP. There are mutual interests involved . Beig still carries a tag of being one of the leading lights of People’s Conference , during the times of Abdul Gani Lone , and he had also returned to PC in 2021, before distancing himself from the party . His wife Safina is a chairperson of the District Development Council Baramulla as also chairperson of the state Haj Committee , which all speaks who is blessing the political couple.
It is assumed , and it may be true too, that Mehbooba Mufti’s party is drawing close to the BJP, rebuilding the bridges through Muzaffar Beig, as it is not possible that he could have been admitted back to the party without some understanding between the two sides . Mehbooba Mufti is not a naïve , not to understand the meaning and the ramifications of Muzaffar Beig being back in the PDP. Something is cooking up that may materialize in the days to come
