LS polls: Sajad Lone seeks support of former J&K deputy CM Muzaffar Hussain Baig

Srinagar, Apr 24 (PTI) People’s Conference chief and party’s candidate from the Baramulla parliamentary constituency, Sajad Lone has sought the support of former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig for his candidature.

Lone called on Muzaffar Hussain Baig and his wife Safina Baig, who is the District Development Council (DDC) chairperson, Baramulla, at their residence here on Tuesday.
“It was a pleasure to call on @Muzaffar__Baig sahib and @SafinaMBaig ji. As the conversation predictably veered towards elections, I stressed that I have a right. And seeking their support is my right,” Lone said on X on Wednesday.

Muzaffar Hussain Baig was the deputy chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008 when Ghulam Nabi Azad was the chief minister and the Congress and PDP shared power.

Muzaffar Hussain Baig, a Padma Bhushan awardee and co-founder of the PDP, was made the party’s patron following Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s death in 2016.
However, he quit the party in 2020 and was tipped to join the People’s Conference.
While his wife Safina joined Lone’s party, the former Lok Sabha member from Baramulla did not make any official announcement about his status.
Although he attended a function organised by the PDP to commemorate the eighth death anniversary of Sayeed in the Anantnag district on January 7, it is not clear whether he is still in the PDP or not.

Meanwhile, Safina said Muzaffar Hussain Baig shares a decade-long relationship with Lone.
“Whenever Beigh sahib and I host Sajad sahib at our residence, it inevitably reminds all of us of the decades long that we share. Beigh sahib has seen him grow and evolve. And yes @sajadlone sahib is correct when he says he is here by virtue of a right,” she posted on X.