In an exclusive interview with Rising Kashmir reporter Younus Rashid, Iltija Mufti, the Media Advisor to former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, said that youth must not boycott the elections; they should exercise their right to vote. She said that they will continue their outreach meetings even after the elections.
RK: We have seen you campaigning very differently from that of the usual politicians. Have you changed your poll strategy?
Iltija: No, I never changed my approach. From the start, I was very clear with my mother that I would not campaign like other politicians here. I have seen most politicians create a class barrier between themselves and the people. At rallies, they sit in big chairs while making people sit on the floor. I find that very condescending and patronizing.
When I began campaigning, many women approached me and said in Kashmiri that they were my servants. This mentality, consciously or subconsciously created by politicians, suggests that people should serve them and not vice versa. I wanted my campaign to be vibrant, positive, interactive and to focus especially on women and young people, who are often absent from rallies and political events.
I have gradually started using multiple social media platforms to interact with people and humanize those in politics.
Additionally, given the mass exodus from the PDP, I aim to rebuild the party brick by brick and support Mehbooba Ji as an ordinary PDP worker. Our outreach meetings will continue even after the elections.
RK: You are canvassing for Mehbooba Mufti in the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary Constituency. What’s the reaction of people on the ground?
Iltija: It’s been an incredible experience. When I started, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. However, over the past month and a half, I’ve found my footing, and the response has been amazing. You must have seen pictures and videos of the many women, young girls, and boys thronging the streets during my road shows. The women, in particular, are extremely affectionate—they come with glasses of milk, sweets, and shower me with flower petals. They kiss me, hug me, and want to hold my hand and kiss my palm. I genuinely feel their love. They aren’t coming because I’m giving them something; they are coming out of pure love and respect for my mother and my grandfather.
RK: Mehbooba Mufti has been raising her voice since the 2019 events. How have things changed for her and the PDP, given your close association with the party?
Iltija: The PDP paid a very heavy price. If you notice, other politicians here often follow a domino effect—Mehbooba Ji is always the first to raise her voice on an issue. When she speaks, others are compelled to speak as well. However, she has faced the consequences for this. Our party is the only one that was torn into pieces. And that’s fine; we paid that cost, and now we want to rebuild the party. We hope to restore the PDP to what it originally was and walk the path envisioned by Mufti Sahib.
RK: After Delimitation, the Anantnag-Rajouri seat is not the same old south Kashmir seat. Has it impacted the vote bank of PDP, or how do you see the constituency now?
Iltija: Actually, that’s not true. I had a road show in Poonch, and the response was phenomenal. Mehbooba Ji is not a myopic politician who views politics through the prism of petty vote-bank politics or by appeasing one community over another. Our vision has always embraced a healing touch policy for everyone—whether it’s a Kashmiri Pandit, a Sikh, a Pahadi, or a Gujjar. We want everyone to prosper, to be genuinely happy, and to have dignity with peace.
Of course, the redistricting has presented its own challenges. But as far as Anantnag-Rajouri Poonch is concerned, I believe Mehbooba Ji is extremely popular there. People recognize that when a Gujjar’s dokh is demolished, Mehbooba Ji is the first to protest at Jantar Mantar. You saw the visuals when three young men were tortured and killed in the Bafliyaz encounter—Mehbooba Ji walked 15 kilometers, was manhandled by the police, but still stayed there. People have witnessed all this. The people in Rajouri and Poonch especially know that she is the only politician who puts her neck on the line to speak for them, and she will continue doing that.
RK: BJP isn’t contesting elections, and Omar accused PDP as BJP’s C team. How do you react to such remarks?
Iltija: Honestly, I am not here to indulge in mudslinging. If you look at my campaign, I have tried to keep it as positive as possible from the start. What people say is their own opinion, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
RK: How do you perceive the delay in the elections?
Iltija: The BJP has resorted to pre-election rigging. Usually, parties engage in rigging on election day, as seen even in 1987. However, the BJP is so obsessed with gaining seats in Kashmir that they have resorted to pre-election rigging. Delimitation was one method. When that didn’t inspire enough confidence, they started putting up proxy candidates and then delayed the elections. They know Mehbooba Ji is very popular and that there continues to be a PDP wave in South Kashmir.
RK: Many believe that your tweet drawing an analogy between the Pakistan elections and the Kashmir situation in 1987 was cited as a reason for the breakdown of the PAGD. How do you see this?
Iltija: PAGD was entirely Mehbooba jis initiative – its raison d’etre was unity for a larger purpose and being magnanimous.
My tweet was grounded in facts; it wasn’t distorted and was completely objective. But having said that, PAGD has a bigger purpose, and if its future is held hostage by a tweet of someone politically insignificant like me, it sounds very absurd. I don’t think that’s the case.
RK: There has been much hype about dynastic politics, or ‘Parivarwaad,’ especially with Omar’s two sons and you coming into the political fold. How do you respond to such remarks?
Iltija: My political baptism happened by fire, not now but five years ago. When all of Kashmir was put behind bars, especially our political leadership, I chose to speak out despite being threatened. The Indian government sent me direct threats and threatened to book my mother under the PSA, which they eventually did. So, I haven’t suddenly appeared now; I have been around for the past five years. As far as being Mehbooba jis daughter is concerned, I am very proud of that fact. Should I be ashamed? Are you ashamed of your parents? No, of course not. We are all proud of where we come from.
For me to be successful, people have to accept me. Being Mehbooba Muftis daughter can only take me so far. If I am to make an indelible mark in Kashmir’s history of politics, it’s entirely up to the people.
Regarding the BJP, leaders like Bansuri Swaraj, Anurag Thakur, Piyush Goyal, and the son of the rapist Brij Bhushan, who had to take the mandate from his father due to grave sexual charges—during these times, they don’t care about ‘Parivarwaad’ (dynastic politics). Criticism of dynastic politics is very selective. When it comes to BJP, you’re accused of ‘Parivarwaad’ and called anti-national only if you don’t support their policies and the divisive RSS agenda. I’m very sure if all these dynastic families they criticize were to support the BJP, they would stop criticizing them.
RK: Do we have any special message from the new young political face like yours for the voters, especially for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat?
Iltija: There is a sense of despondency and despair, especially among the youth of Kashmir. Over the past five years, every recruitment scam has tainted opportunities, and issues like drugs and depression are rampant but rarely discussed. The conversation is dominated by the binary of Article 370, relegating other critical issues to the background. Youth employment and empowerment should be major talking points, but they are not.
I urge young voters to exercise their right to political participation by voting. Their voices count, and their votes matter. They must not boycott the elections; they should exercise their right.
