PDP may clear air after mourning period ends

Political activities will step up in J&K and there may be more clarity on government formation after Monday’s congregation at the graveyard of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at Dara Shikoh Mughal Garden in south Kashmir.
The Peoples Democratic Party is holding a “religious gathering” on February 15, the 40th day of mourning for Mufti Sayeed. The mourning among Kashmiri Muslims ends on the 40th day. PDP leaders, including former minister and legislators, workers and members of the Mufti family will offer “fatiha” (prayers) along with party president Mehbooba Mufti. There is the possibility of some top BJP leader attending the ceremony.
“We will not hold any political rally on Monday. The sympathisers and followers are free to come and they will come on their own,” said party general secretary Nizam-u-Din Bhat.
Though the party maintains that it will be purely a religious function, the party has started mobilising its workers to ensure good participation on the last day of mourning as the thin attendance for Mufti Sayeed’s funeral on January 7 is being taken as a yardstick by critics to judge the PDP’s popularity graph.
Mehbooba Mufti, who has been holding consultations with party leaders, is expected to come to active politics after Monday’s meet. Party workers have also not been addressed by Mehbooba since the death of her father. Mehbooba, who has been authorised by her party to take a call on government formation, has mostly confined herself to her Fairview residence after the death of her father.