A zonal president of the Peoples Democratic Party, Nitish Mahajan, on Tuesday resigned from the party over its decision to boycott the upcoming panchayat and local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported.

“We believe in democracy and announcing boycott of the elections means that you have no faith in the Constitution,” Mahajan said, adding that he has submitted the resignation to party president Mehbooba Mufti.

On September 10, the PDP announced its decision to not contest the polls, urging the central government to reconsider its decision to conduct the elections. The National Conference said it would boycott elections until the Centre clarifies its position on Article 35A of the Constitution. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has also decided to give the elections a miss.

Mahajan said after the death of former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed – the founder of PDP – the vision and mission of the party suffered a setback. He claimed that the PDP-led government in the state, which was dissolved in June, ignored Jammu.

The panchayat elections will be held in nine phases between November 17 and December 11, while elections to municipal bodies will be held in four phases between October 8 and October 16. Jammu and Kashmir has been under Governor’s Rule since June, when the BJP pulled out of the PDP-led government.