Senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig was appointed as the patron of the party on Monday. The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Mehbooba Mufti at her official residence.
The decision to appoint Baig as patron, who is one of the founding members of the party, is seen as an attempt to address the growing resentment and dissensions in the party.
On November 20, Baig, in a press conference, had said he was ready to join the third front led by Sajad Lone of Peoples' Conference, a BJP ally. He had said Lone was like his son and PC was like his home.
Baig's support to a possible Lone-led third front was seen as a major setback to Mehbooba's efforts to keep the flock together.
Two days later, on November 22, Governor Satya Prakash Malik dissolved the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after Mehbooba had staked the claim to form the government with the support of the National Conference and the Congress in a letter addressed to Malik.
Lone, too, had staked claim to form the government with the support of the “BJP and 18 other MLAs”. But neither Mehbooba nor Lone could reach out to Malik. The governor later said that there was no one in his office to operate the fax because of Eid Milad holiday.
The coming together of political rivals PDP and NC, a rare moment in the state's turbulent political history, was largely aimed to check the BJP's move to form a government in the state with the help of rebels from other parties, mostly from the PDP.
Three PDP leaders Abid Ansari, his uncle Imran Ansari, and Abbas Wani have resigned from the party and joined the Peoples' Conference.
Earlier, five PDP MLAs, including the Ansaris, had rebelled against Mehbooba and accused her of nepotism and family rule.
However, the dissolution of the assembly came as a blessing in disguise for the PDP and NC as it ruined the BJP's chances of forming a government.
The dissolution helped Mehbooba to salvage some pride by claiming that she sought the support of the NC to safeguard the special status of the state and defend Article 35A, which protects the J&K State Subject Law.
According to observers, Mehbooba's crisis is far from over as more PDP leaders are expected to jump the ship in the coming months in view of the elections.
