PDP party president Mehbooba Mufti.
Credit: X/@MehboobaMufti
Syed Salim Gilani, a former Hurriyat Conference leader Sunday formally joined the Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Srinagar.
The announcement was made at the PDP headquarters, here, in the run-up to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections scheduled to be held in three phases – September 18, 25 and October 1.
Gilani was welcomed into the party fray by Mufti. He is likely to be the PDP’s candidate from Khanyar constituency in old city Srinagar, where he is set to face off against Ali Mohammad Sagar of the National Conference (NC), a five times MLA and former minister.
The former separatist leader’s entry into the PDP and his candidacy from Khanyar is expected to intensify the competition in a constituency that has traditionally been a stronghold for the NC. His move to join mainstream politics under the PDP banner signals a potential shift in his political ideology.
The development comes at a time when several separatist organisations and religious clerics are jumping into the electoral fray for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu Kashmir.
Banned Jamaat e Islami has fielded at least six candidates as independents, who are set to contest the assembly polls in south Kashmir.