Srinagar: Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, on Tuesday became the third generation politician from the Mufti family to jump into electoral fray as she filed her nomination from party’s stronghold Bijbehara assembly seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Accompanied by her mother Mehbooba Mufti and hundreds of supporters, Iltija Mufti filed her papers before the returning officer for Bijbehara assembly seat which has been represented by family loyalist Abdul Rehman Veeri for the past four consecutive terms.
Talking to reporters after filing her nomination, Iltija Mufti said she will raise “injustice and harassment meted out to people of Kashmir” in the assembly.
“I have always stood by the truth and will continue to do it,” she added.
Iltija Mufti said it was a very emotional moment for her as her mother and grandfather Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had also taken their first electoral plunges from Bijbehara seat. While Sayeed had won from this south Kashmir seat in 1962, Mehbooba Mufti made her electoral debut from this seat in 1996 with a win.
Iltija Mufti thanked the party leadership for fielding her from Bijbehara seat in the three-phase assembly polls.
She visited the grave of Sayeed before filing her nomination papers. “I could feel his soul was with me,” she added.
PDP youth president Waheed Para, who filed his nomination papers for Pulwama assembly segment as a PDP candidate, said he would focus on “restoration of dignity and identity of people of Kashmir”.
“This is an opportunity to raise the voice against injustices and the atmosphere of fear prevailing in Kashmir. This election is an opportunity for people of Jammu and Kashmir to reclaim the space that they have been evicted from unconstitutionally after August 05, 2019,” Para told reporters.
Asked about the key points of his election campaign, Para, who is out on bail in a terror case, said, “The key agenda in this election is the identity and dignity of the people of Kashmir. This is the biggest issue for us, we have been raising it earlier and we will continue to talk about it.”
The youth leader brushed aside a question on the impact of the alliance between National Conference and Congress on the prospects of PDP candidates.
“Our alliance is with the people like it was in 2002 (assembly elections). Our effort is to take the message and agenda of (PDP founder) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to the people,” he added.
Para said the participation of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in the elections was a welcome development.
“It is a welcome step. They have every right and they should get the political space,” he said.
Parra was arrested in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and released on bail more than 18 months later in 2022. He contested the Lok Sabha elections from Srinagar constituency but was defeated by National Conference candidate Aga Ruhullah.
