Political debut of Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, PDP releases first list of eight candidates for JK elections

Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, is going to make her electoral debut in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. Iltija will contest from Bijbehara, a traditional family stronghold in Anantnag district of South Kashmir. Iltija, who plays an active role in the political activities of the PDP, is working as the media advisor to the party chief.

According to PDP sources, this move is the first step by Mehbooba Mufti towards handing over her political legacy to her daughter, as Mehbooba herself is now coming into the role of a mentor and has herself refused to contest the assembly elections.

Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has released the list of its constituency in-charges in view of the upcoming assembly elections. PDP General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura has released this list.

Anantnag East – Abdul Rehman Veeri
Devsar – Sartaj Ahmed Madni
Anantnag – Dr. Mehboob Beg
Charar-e-Shareef – Gh. Nabi Lone Hanjura
Bijbehara – Iltija Mufti
narrator – d. Mohiuddin Wani
Pulwama – Waheed-ur-Rehman Para
Tral – Rafiq Ahmad Naik

PDP General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura confirmed the list and it has been released through the party’s official letter. The party has taken this step as part of election preparations to ensure that the party in-charges in every constituency can work dedicatedly.

Who is Iltija Mufti?
Iltija Mufti (37), daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, is going to start her political career. Iltija will contest the assembly elections from Bijbehara in South Kashmir, which is considered the traditional stronghold of the Mufti family. Iltija has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Delhi University and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.

Iltija first came into the limelight when she was appointed as the media advisor to Mehbooba Mufti during her detention after the abrogation of Article 370. In August 2019, when communication was cut across Kashmir, Iltija wrote a bold letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah asking why she was kept under house arrest at her Srinagar residence.