Two ex-PDP leaders back in party fold after 4 years

Two former leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) returned to the party fold on Sunday, four years after quitting. Mansoor Hussain Suharwardy, a former MLA, and Yasir Reshi, a former MLC, re-joined the PDP in the presence of party president Mehbooba Mufti at its headquarters in Srinagar. The party said in a post on X.

Yasir Reshi had joined the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference in 2021 and served as political secretary to its president Sajad Gani Lone. Similarly, Mansoor Hussain Suharwardy, a former PDP general secretary and close aide of party founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had resigned from the PDP in 2021 citing “strong political and personal reasons”.

Suharwardy, who won the 2008 Assembly elections from South Kashmir’s Shangus, was a close aide of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He had also served as a political adviser to Mehbooba Mufti.

The return of these leaders comes at a crucial time for the PDP, which is striving to rebuild its base after its worst-ever performance in the 2020 Assembly elections. The party managed to win only three seats, a sharp decline from its previous tallies of 28 seats in 2014 and 21 in 2008. The abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in 2019 had triggered a major exodus from the party, but recently, several leaders have been making a comeback.

The PDP has initiated a detailed review of its election loss and plans to draft proposals to strengthen its grassroots presence and reconnect with the public. The party aims at highlighting its achievements and re-establish itself as a viable democratic alternative in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said.