'I, Iltija Mufti, Mehbooba Mufti's Daughter...': PDP Debutant Seeks To Retain Home Turf Bijbehara In J&K Assembly Polls, Revive Beleaguered Party

Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti has been fielded by her mother from the high-stakes Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency replacing senior leader Abdul Rahman Veeri. Iltija, has a two-pronged challenge to deal with--retaining the party's home turf in the assembly polls and reviving the beleaguered PDP in the aftermath of Article 370 abrogation in August, 2019. ETV Bharat profiles the PDP debutant in fray in the first phase of the much anticipated assembly polls.

Hyderabad: In her affidavit filed with her nomination from the Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat in south Kashmir's Anantnag, Iltija Mufti describes herself as the daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti rather than the the latter's estranged husband.

Iltija makes her electoral debut in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections from the high stakes seat as the PDP candidate opposite NC's Bashir Ahmad Veeri and BJP's Sofi Yousif. The third generation Mufti seeks to follow in her mother's footsteps to revive the beleaguered PDP, which has witnessed mass exodus of leaders in the aftermath of Article 370 abrogation on August 5, 2019.

Mehbooba, too had to confront a similar challenge when she was fielded by her father Mufti from the same seat in the 1996 state polls on a Congress ticket. Mehbooba had taken up the challenge and won the seat, one of the only two seats secured by the Congress. Mufti Sayeed later quit Congress and floated the PDP in the early 2000s, a party Mehbooba now heads.

Bijbehara, the constituency from which Ilitija is seeking to enter the political arena, is considered the stronghold of the Muftis, and the party has successfully held the position for the last 28 years. But Iltija will be battling an anti-incumbency factor against the PDP, which has faced the people's wrath for the party's infamous coalition with the BJP after the 2014 assembly polls, which culminated in the saffron party's withdrawal from the coalition and the subsequent abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Additionally, Mehbooba Mufti's move to field Iltija from Bijbehara and her former PA from Zainpora while sidelining senior leaders led to speculations that the PDP President was sacrificing party to launch her daughter into politics. The announcement of Iltija's candidature was followed by a another mass exodus of leaders from the party after they felt sidelined.

Education

Ilija has graduated in political science from Delhi University and has done Masters in International Relations from Waruick University in United Kingdom.

Political Debut

Iltija, who recently joined politics, has been working closely with her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, since last year. She took on the role of media adviser and managed her mother's social media accounts, especially during her mother's time in jail since 2019.

As a third-generation politician from the Mufti family in Kashmir, Iltija is often compared to her mother. She emphasizes her individuality and independence from her mother's political legacy.

Mehbooba chose not to run in the assembly election, stating her opposition to the election until Jammu & Kashmir's special status is restored.

Iltija's Vision for Kashmir

Despite her newness in politics, Iltija has a vision for the troubled Himalayan region. A key focus for her is to support women whose spouses and sons have been stuck in jail for extended periods. She has mentioned that numerous women from her area have been voicing concerns about their sons and husbands being detained under severe laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA).

Many people from Kashmir believe that the government exploits the anti-terrorism laws as instruments of pressure to uphold law and order.

Iltija welcomed the entry of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in the elections, too.

In 2019, the Central Government abrogated Article 370, which had previously granted the areas a lot of self-governance, and divided the state into two union territories under national control—Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.