Srinagar, Mar 16: In a significant political development, two former lawmakers of Jammu and Kashmir, Mansoor Hussain Suharwardy and Yasir Reshi, have rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), more than four years after parting ways with the party. Their return marks yet another instance of former PDP leaders gravitating back to the party fold amid the evolving political landscape of the Union Territory.
Suharwardy, a former PDP Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and Reshi, a former Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), formally rejoined the PDP in the presence of party president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at the PDP headquarters in Srinagar.
Welcoming them back, senior party functionaries including PDP vice-president Mohammad Sartaj Madni, Parliamentary Board chief Abdul Rehman Veeri, general secretaries Abdul Haq Khan and Mohammad Khursheed Alam, and former ministers Syed Nayeem Akhter Andrabi, Gh Nabi Lone Hanjura, and Asiya Naqash were present at the event.
The return of Suharwardy and Reshi is politically significant, as both leaders were among several high-profile figures who left the PDP after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew from the coalition government in 2018, leading to the party’s political instability. In 2021, they had aligned with the People’s Conference, led by Sajad Gani Lone. However, their return to the PDP reflects the shifting political dynamics in Jammu and Kashmir, as the party seeks to consolidate its position ahead of possible elections.
Notably, over the past year, multiple key figures, including Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Khursheed Alam, and Basharat Bukhari, have also returned to the PDP, signaling a resurgence within the party ranks. Observers believe these re-entries could bolster PDP’s political standing as it navigates the evolving electoral and administrative framework in Jammu and Kashmir.