Eerie silence prevails in Jammu Cong camp
Jammu, Jan 2: creepy silence has gripped the Congress camp in Jammu region since the day results of the recently held assembly polls were declared. Party stalwarts and former Ministers biting dust in Jammu region and losing to BJP debutants seems to have shocked the Congress leaders. None of them have uttered a word since December 23, 2014 (when poll results were declared).
Kashmir based Congress politicians are doing all the talking and are floating new ideas and seem desperate to be the part of the next government in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the Congress leaders from Jammu region are silent.
Pertinently, the issue of having a Hindu Chief Minister was raised by the former Congress Minister Sham Lal Sharma, who lost the recent elections from Akhnoor constituency. He was the one who triggered a debate over Kashmir based politicians getting the top post for the past six decades. Since the day Sharma lost the elections he has gone into his shell and is still analyzing what went wrong. Just one day before Assembly polls were announced Sharma stirred the hornet’s nest and tendered his resignation from Omar Abdullah’s cabinet. He blamed NC Ministers for sabotaging his move to regularize the daliy wagers who were mostly from Jammu region.
A few Congress candidates who have won from Jammu region have failed to take a cue from Sharma and are acting as mute spectators. They are playing second fiddle to Kashmir based leaders. “Had Jammu based Congress leaders shown some guts like Sharma it would have helped the Congress party regain its lost ground in Jammu region,” said an analyst.
He said that Congress leaders from Jammu giving space to the Valley based leaders is making people believe that they are subservient to Kashmiri leadership and lack courage to raise the issues which touch the skin of Jammuities. “Congress leaders paid a heavy price for not being able to raise Jammu centric issues when they were in power. Chair remained their only concern during the past 12-years. People taught them a lesson this time and voted for BJP.”
It is in place to mention here that Congress bagged just six seats out of 37 seats in entire Jammu region and just got 12 seats in the entire state.
Observers are of the opinion if Congress leaders don’t put their act together at this crucial juncture, party may become a history in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir in coming years. “Credit for raising the demand of Hindu Chief Minister from Jammu goes to Sham Lal Sharma, but the Congress leaders have failed to highlight their achievement,” said a political analyst.
He said Congress leaders from Jammu need to come out from their shell and need to become bit vibrant. “It seems top Congress leaders are exerting pressure on them by showing them dreams of their party being the part of the next government and they getting plum ministries,” the analyst added.
He was of the opinion that Congress leaders should realize that this is not time for them to be silent. “They should stop following the diktats of a few leaders who couldn’t muster courage to fight the Assembly polls as the fear of defeat kept them away,” he added.
“Hindu Chief Minister was the agenda of Congress but BJP has almost hijacked the idea,” the analyst said.