Mehbooba Mufti meets party leaders to raise morale

Amid growing rebellion within the party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday met the party members in Srinagar to stem the rot and help restore confidence among the lawmakers and leaders.

It is for the first time since the collapse of the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir that the former chief minister met the lawmakers in Srinagar. Since the collapse of the government, she had been camping in New Delhi returned to Srinagar on Saturday.

"It was basically a calling on meeting. She came from New Delhi after a long time. This was not a formal meeting. It was more of one-on-one meeting with her," Naeem Akhtar, senior PDP leader and former works minister told DNA.

Sources said that more than 20 MLAs and MLCs from the houses met Mehbooba and assured her of their full support. "They threw their weight behind the party leadership. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the recent developments in the party. One thing which emerged from the meeting is that leaders still support Mehbooba wholeheartedly," a senior leader said.

This move comes after an apparent rebellion by PDP leaders and lawmakers against the leadership of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. All the six rebel lawmakers were amiss from Sunday's meeting.

On the absence of MLAs, Akhtar said, "Many members are out of town. Plus it was not a formal meeting."

As many as six former ministers and MLAs had openly questioned the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti earlier this month.