Former chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed his shock and sympathy at the demise of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) due to multiple organ failure here on Thursday at 7:15 am. He was 79 years old.
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Sayeed took over as chief minister of PDP-BJP coalition on March 1 a year ago.
Describing him a self-respecting, seasoned and thinking politician, Azad said he relentlessly strove for the equitable development of all the regions of the state and envisioned unified, inclusive, pluralistic and progressive Jammu and Kashmir and a strong India.
However, a top BJP functionary told IANS that the party will push for the formula of 50:50 for the remainder of the chief ministerial term, meaning for half of the rest of the term the PDP would head the government and the BJP for the other half.
Mufti Mohammad had on November 13 hinted that Mehbooba Mufti could become the next chief minister as she was better connected with the people and deserves to be chief minister. He is likely to be buried in his ancestral village in South Kashmir.
“First, the PDP legislature party will have to elect her as its leader”.
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“Mufti saheb had proposed earlier too to consider Mehbooba as the chief minister when we were in talks for the formation of the government earlier, but we were not ready”, he said. Rubaiya was released in exchange of five Kashmir based militants, which caused a massive furore in the country and at the same time jeopardised Mufti’s career in politics to a great extent. He also came up with the document Self-Rule as a framework of suggestions to achieve the resolution for the longstanding Kashmir dispute.
