As BJP eyes first Lok Sabha win in Kashmir, a PDP veteran central to its plans

The BJP-led Union government’s decision to grant the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the linguistic Pahari community in Jammu and Kashmir has given a new lease of life to the political career of former Deputy Chief Minister of the erstwhile state Muzaffar Baig, and revealed the party’s efforts and strategy to win its first Lok Sabha seat in Kashmir. The BJP currently holds the Udhampur and Jammu Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territory.

Baig, who is a Pahari, returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last month but sprung a surprise last week by attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Jammu and said he was not part of the PDP.  The veteran leader’s move to disassociate himself from the party of which he is a founder member was a surprise given that he had joined PDP president Mehbooba Mufti at the grave of party founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara on his ninth death anniversary. At the time, Baig said he had not left the PDP but had been “inactive”.

The veteran leader’s decision to return to the PDP was viewed by some in the party as an attempt to regain his political relevance as his stint with Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference, which he formally joined in March 2021, did not last long and he was expelled within a few months.

With the Centre granting ST status to Paharis, Baig has more to gain in a partnership with the BJP. The ruling party at the Centre wants Pahari support as the community holds sway in Poonch and Rajouri, which are now part of the south Kashmir parliamentary seat of Anantnag. The BJP will be hoping for a consolidation of Hindu and Pahari votes to win its first Lok Sabha seat in Kashmir, a victory that will hold great value for the party. Apart from that, the