Hints at ‘Northern Alliance’ in J&K

Jammu: The exit of former Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Haseeb Drabu from the Peoples Democratic Party has fanned rumours that the renowned economist may be contemplating joining the ‘third front’ led by the Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone.

According to sources, Sajad Lone spoke to Drabu after his exit. Himself a former minister in the PDP-BJP government, Lone has managed the support of at least four former PDP legislators including former J&K sports minister Imran Ansari and his uncle Abid Ansari, in what is being described as the emergence of ‘northern alliance’.

Barring the resignation letter to the PDP president yesterday Drabu has not spoken about his exit, but the Valley is rife with speculation that he may also join the ‘third front’, or at least become part of, the next government in the border state that has been ravaged by turmoil over the last three years.

The former finance minister had stayed away from the party affairs in last two years and recently refused to become member of the all powerful PDP’s PAC, “In this brief period (of PDP-BJP government), I got a full flavour of politics, in its fascinating range from principles, pledges, to perfidies!,” he wrote in his resignation letter to Mehbooba .

Drabu’s exit is another jolt for Mehbooba Mufti who is struggling to keep her party’s flock together.

Last week, the party cofounder and senior leader, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, who was sidelined by Mehbooba in her stint as the chief minister, also hinted that he may join the ‘third front’.

The evolution of the ‘northern alliance’ has been a cause of much worry for the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party because some of the leaders from both the parties have worked with Sajad Lone’s father, Abdul Gani Lone, when his party used to contest the assembly election before the insurgency erupted in Kashmir.