Political slugfest notwithstanding, Mehbooba Mufti has even silenced critics and detractors within her party by winning the election for president unopposed.
Leaving their political bitterness behind, former Chief Minister and National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah went into an overdrive to greet Mehbooba Mufti for being elected People's Democratic Party (PDP) president for the sixth time, evoking a quick and positive response from the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister.
"Congratulations to Mehbooba Mufti on being re-elected as President of PDP. We may not agree on much these days but I wish you well", Omar tweeted.
Hours later Mehbooba too took to Twitter to return the favour. "Thanks for the wishes, Omar. Debate is the essence of democracy so we can agree to disagree on certain issues", she said.
For two bitter political rivals, the camaraderie was like a breeze as both Mehbooba and Omar have been slugging it out almost daily. From accusations to counter accusations, the two leaders have been at loggerheads on varied issues. Be it the state subject law under Article 35A or dealing with the unrest, the two leaders have been fighting it out openly.
Political slugfest notwithstanding, Mehbooba Mufti has even silenced critics and detractors within her party by winning the election for president unopposed.
Mehbooba has been facing criticism from within the party, particularly about dealing with the 2016 unrest. In fact senior leader Tariq Karra quit the party post as well as the MP from Srinagar constituency last year over differences with Mehbooba over with unrest. The party ultimately lost the bye-polls for the seat to National Conference President Farooq Abdullah in April.
A hesitant politician initially, she plunged into the electoral fray in 1996 from her home constituency Bijbhera on the insistence of her father late Mufti Mohommad Sayeed, who was then the tallest Congress leader in J&K.
It was sheer luck for Mehbooba to plunge into politics as her father wanted his son Mufti Tasaduq Hussain to contest the polls. Since he was underage, Mufti picked Mehbooba from Bijbhera seat while his wife Gulshan was nominated from Pahalgam constituency.
A law graduate Mehbooba holds the record of not losing any election from the traditional pocket borough of south Kashmir either in the Assembly or the parliament. She however lost the parliamentary election once from Srinagar when she contested against Omar Abdullah in 1999.
Last year Mehbooba became the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after the demise of her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
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