Mehbooba Mufti marks 30 years of political struggle and sacrifice

In an evening thick with gratitude, memory, and quiet emotion, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti hosted a dinner to mark 30 years of her political journey. 

The gathering brought together journalists who have walked beside her through every high and every fall — those who celebrated her work and those who held her accountable when they believed she had gone wrong. 

“I felt that in this journey of mine, you all have played a big role in my ups and downs, in lifting me up and letting me fall. So, I just wanted to thank you,” Mehbooba told the gathering. 

She acknowledged the difficult conditions under which media professionals work across India, noting that the challenges are even greater in Jammu and Kashmir. 

“Working everywhere is very difficult for the media right now, but it’s even more tough to work in Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir.” She said.

Her political story began in 1996, at a time when terrorism was at its peak and many were reluctant to contest elections under the Indian constitutional framework. 

Her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, then leading the Congress in the state, struggled to find candidates. He fielded family members, including Mehbooba from the family’s home constituency of Bijbehara in south Kashmir. 

Mehbooba Mufti won that maiden Assembly election on a Congress ticket, defeating her National Conference rival, and went on to serve as leader of the Congress Legislature Party. 

In those years, she recalled, there was no social media, no personal security. “In the 90s there was no social media; we used to walk on foot with a camera, there was no PSO; it was just the mountains and forests alone to reach people.” She said 

That first victory marked the start of a long and turbulent path. In 1999, Father and Daughter left the Congress and founded the People's Democratic Party, seeking a distinct regional voice rooted in the “healing touch” approach and self-rule and giving alternatives to people. 

Mehbooba became the public face of the new party, connecting with ordinary Kashmiris, particularly women and conflict-affected families, often visiting homes scarred by violence. She contested the 1999 Lok Sabha election from Srinagar and lost to Omar Abdullah, but the setback did not deter her. 

In the landmark 2002 Assembly elections, she won from Pahalgam, and the PDP, with just 16 seats, formed a coalition government with the Congress — installing Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as Chief Minister. 

Mehbooba later won the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and again in 2014. After the 2014 Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict, the PDP entered its second coalition—this time with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Chief Minister in March 2015. 

Many within the party and across Kashmir later came to regard this alliance as one of the PDP’s most costly political mistakes. When Mufti Sayeed passed away on 7 January 2016, Mehbooba remained deeply reluctant for nearly three months to continue the coalition government with the BJP. The ground situation, however, left her with little room. 

On 4 April 2016, she was sworn in as the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, heading the same PDP-BJP alliance her father had forged. 

Her tenure, which lasted until June 2018, was marked by intense challenges, including the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and widespread unrest. 

Through it all, she remained a polarizing yet enduring figure — admired by supporters for her grassroots connect and criticized by others for the difficult choices of coalition politics.

At the dinner, the PDP chief spoke not as a distant politician but as someone addressing her own people. "I am not speaking like a politician here. I am speaking to my own people. When you people sometimes come to our office, and for some questions I get angry, I do that, treating you all as my own people.” 

She expressed deep appreciation that senior journalists had responded to her invitation. “I am happy many senior journalists had come. I called them, and they came. I can’t name all of you. But I want to thank all of you for supporting me, praising me, and criticizing me when you felt I was making mistakes or doing things wrong. I have learned a lot from you.”

Emotionally, she reflected on the passage of time: "As the saying goes, ‘most of it has passed, only a little is left.’ I have spent such a long period of my life with you all; not much is left now. You have been partners in my journey until today, and whatever God has kept for the future, I hope that whenever I make a mistake, you will criticize me and where I do right, you will pat my back," Mufti said.

She noted that praise from party workers and relatives is expected, but affirmation from journalists carries special weight and encouragement. “It feels good… So, Inshallah, I hope we will carry this relation more,” she said. 

Mehbooba concluded by thanking who all had travelled for this gating, expressing hope that everyone would enjoy the pleasant evening. “I am once again very grateful to all of you… I hope you enjoy yourself, and please, enjoy yourself and have a nice time.”

Thirty years after she first stepped into the political arena amid the shadows of conflict, Mehbooba Mufti’s celebration was less about power and more about the long, shared road — the victories, the falls, the criticism, the learning, and the enduring bond with the people and the journalists who have witnessed it with her.