Junaid Azim Mattu, the former mayor of Srinagar and a leader of the Apni Party who played a significant role in supporting the central government after the 2019 revocation of Article 370, declared a temporary withdrawal from politics on Friday.

The decision has come after the Apni Party, Peoples Conference and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, also called the “king’s parties” for their proximity with the Centre, received a massive drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls, raising questions about the BJP’s initiative to weaken main players such as the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The three parties are led by Altaf Bukhari, Sajad Lone and Ghulam Nabi Azad, respectively. Mattu was a senior leader of the Bukhari-led Apni Party, indirectly referred to as the B-team of the BJP in the Valley.

“After considerable thought, I announce an interim cessation of all my political activities. A strong conviction has to precede any meaningful work and with all humility at my command, I want to renew my pristine idealism. Will share my views elaborately in a few days,” Mattu posted on X.

Mattu, a graduate in business and finance from Michigan State University, has dabbled with separatist politics under the wings of Lone. Like his boss, he shunned separatist politics to join the “mainstream”. Over the years, both got closer to the BJP but separately.

Mattu served as the mayor of Srinagar for nearly five years from 2018 after a deeply controversial election. The elections to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation were held in 2018 amid a call for a boycott by the NC and the PDP over apprehensions of abrogation of Article 370.

The election witnessed an abysmal 2 per cent turnout and Mattu bagged only a handful of votes.

In the recently concluded general election, two Apni Party candidates not only forfeited their deposits but the party also failed to secure a lead in any of the 36 Assembly segments in the two Lok Sabha seats.

Last week, the debacle prompted its president Bukhari to dissolve all frontal organisations, including the youth and women’s wings. Mattu’s interim cessation from politics comes days after he returned from Haj.

“Haj has been a deeply transformative and introspective journey for me, Alhumdulilah (Thank God),” he posted last month.

During his tenure as the Srinagar mayor, Mattu faced allegations of misusing funds by allocating a major monetary share to Zadibal and Hazratbal constituencies, which he was “grooming” for the Assembly polls.

Locals claim his policies have spelt doom for the Dal Lake for allegedly allowing illegal constructions and road networks in areas inside the lake, where such activities are strictly barred.