Eyes Parliament seat from Baramulla
In a development that may have far reaching consequences for the state unit of the Congress, former JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz is likely to join the PDP.
First time in 18 years a stalwart from J&K Congress, Soz is seriously weighing options to cross the floor. Sources in JKPCC said he is in touch with Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti who heads the ruling PDP.
Soz represented Congress in Rajya Saba for a long time and was a minister in Union Cabinet “but now he wants to win Parliament seat and assume a bigger role,” a source said, adding that Soz is bargaining hard with PDP and wants a ticket for himself from Baramulla Parliamentary constituency.
“General elections are due in 2019 but Soz wishes to work in his home constituency for next few years and fight Parliamentary elections on PDP ticket.”
Soz is almost invisible in Kashmir ever since G A Mir replaced him as Congress chief in J&K. Sources close to Soz said he is not being invited to important meetings or public rallies held in Jammu and Kashmir.
Soz was the only Congressman from J&K who openly supported Mufti’s continuation as Chief Minister even as Congress and Muft’s PDP had agreed for a change of guard after first three years of the regime that took office in 2002.
Soz is considered to be uncomfortable with key Congress leader and former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad. “Azad is actually instrumental in restructuring of Congress in Kashmir which saw Soz getting replaced by GA Mir early this year,” said a source.
Soz had been Union Minister of Water Resources in India’s 14th Lok Sabha and Minister of Environment and Forests in the 1990s. In January 2006, he was nominated to the Congress Working Committee, the executive committee of the Indian National Congress.
In 1983, Soz made his political entry under the banner of National Conference and contested Lok Sabha elections and won the Baramulla seat as a candidate of the ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party. At the time, National Conference was headed by Farooq Abdullah. Soz went on to win three more Lok Sabha elections as a member of the NC. He also represented the NC and the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha in the mid-’90s.
In 1999, Soz resigned and was expelled from the National Conference for voting against the government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Soz was a NC Member of Parliament and defied his party’s leadership. His vote brought the BJP government down which led the then Prime Minister to tender his resignation.
Later Soz joined the Congress party in 2003 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha. In January 2006, he was inducted into the Ministry of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Minister of Water Resources, a position he held until early 2009. Soz was appointed President of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh (state) Congress Committee in February 2008. He was also one of the front runners for the post of Vice-President of India in 2007 and 2012.
When contacted, Soz admitted that he doesn’t attend public mobilization programs of Congress Chief G A Mir and also skips the state level meetings. “Yes, I don’t attend meetings but that doesn’t mean anything. We have a new party structure in place and I don’t want to interfere. Whenever I am invited I do attend meetings,” Soz told
