Muzaffar Hussain Baig appointed as PDP patron

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday said it has appointed senior leader and Lok Sabha member from Baramulla Muzaffar Hussain Baig as patron of the party.

Baig's appointment as patron of the PDP was made on Monday following a marathon meeting held at the residence of party president Mehbooba Mufti. "On behalf of the workers, leaders and all the party functionaries we congratulate Jenab Muzzafar Hussain Beigh Sahab for his appointment as the patron of our party, a position held earlier by our beloved leader Jenab Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Sahab," the PDP wrote on its Twitter handle.

The development comes amidst rebellion in the PDP as four former MLAs have quit while there were rumours of many more leaders deserting the party ahead of the fresh assembly elections, which have been necessitated due to dissolution of the lower house of the state legislature by Governor Satya pal Malik on November 21.

Besides Imran Ansari and his uncle Abid Ansari, former finance minister Haseeb Drabu and former MLA Tangmarg Mohammad Abbas Wani have resigned from the PDP following the dissolution of the assembly.

Speculation were rife that Baig, whose wife Safina Baig is the president of women's wing of the PDP, might quit the party as he came out in public against the party leadership on November 20.

"The PDP betrayed the workers, denying them a chance to connect with the people, by boycotting the (municipal) elections. They left a vacuum and that space has now been occupied. Politics does not wait for people who boycott," Baig said last month.

Baig said he was not consulted when the party took the decision to boycott the local bodies polls.

"I was in Delhi, just a phone call away. I remained quiet because I did not want the PDP to fall asunder," he said.