SRINAGAR, Jan 7: In the company of party leader Mehbooba Mufti, seasoned politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig re-joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday, according to reports. At a PDP-hosted event in the Jammu and Kashmir region of Anantnag to mark the eighth anniversary of party founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s passing, Baig became a member of the party. Additionally, he performed fatiha, or special prayers, at Sayeed’s mausoleum in the district of South Kashmir’s Bijbhera. According to party spokesperson Mohit Bhan, “Baig has returned to the PDP.”After Sayeed passed away in 2016, Baig, a co-founder of the PDP in the late 1990s, became the party’s patron. In 2020, Baig, a former deputy chief minister, left the party and was predicted to join Sajad Lone’s People’s Conference. Baig, a former member of the Lok Sabha from Baramulla, did not formally disclose his position, even though his wife Safina joined Lone’s party. Given that the Lok Sabha elections are less than four months away, Baig’s return to the PDP is significant.
