Adeeba Aashiq
There is a political buzz going around the state of Jammu and Kashmir regarding the formation of government. After the demise of the Chief Minister of State, speculations are floating that PDP may break alliance with BJP and will form government with Congress or will opt for a grand alliance or they may go for re electoral process. The visit of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders to Ms Mufti’s residence has fueled speculation that moves might be afoot for weaning the PDP away from BJP to form an alternative government.
The PDP has not broken the alliance with BJP yet and the question arises, why President of the Peoples Democratic Party is not taking any stand regarding the formation of the government? The family has not only lost their head of the family but state and the country has also suffered a great loss.
Jammu and Kashmir is under temporary Governor’s Rule as Mehbooba Mufti, picked by the PDP to replace her father as Chief Minister, as of now has refused to take oath. The PDP has not explained the delay officially. Politically, the PDP-BJP alliance has been an uneasy one, with the two parties traditional stands on many contentious issues at odds.
It took almost two months, the former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to decide the government formation with BJP. According to poll figures, PDP got a clear mandate from the Kashmir region and BJP from Jammu. To bring the two regions of the State closer, Mufti form the government with BJP. Now, it is clear that the party patron formed the government with the BJP, keeping in view the mandate given by the Jammu region to the BJP.
As of now, there are no differences between the two partners PDP and BJP, I am sure that the positive developments will come very soon, in the next few weeks. When Mufti Mohammad Sayeed laid the foundation stone of the 19-km road widening project from Lakhanpur to Thain, he at that time said the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed for peace, development and better tourism in the state.
The dissidents in PDP have been constantly questioning the rationale behind the alliance that their party has with the BJP. Earlier, these voices that had been muted, but following the recent communal polarization between Jammu and Kashmir on the issue of beef consumption, these dissidents have been voicing their reservations openly. A case in point is the recent statements of Tariq Hameed Karra, PDP Member of Parliament from the Srinagar constituency who defeated Dr Farooq Abdullah. Karra whose apprehensions about the alliance had been muted earlier, has recently after the beef incident has vehemently criticized his party’s alliance with the BJP.
The other senior leader in PDP, who is credited to be one of the founders of the party, Muzzafar Baig, has also maintained a stony silence and is reported to be unhappy with the leadership. It might be recalled that both Karra and Baig along with Mahbooba Mufti are Members of Parliament and in the early days of the alliance it was felt that the PDP would join the Government at Delhi and one of these two, Karra or Baig would find a place in the Centre. But, the stand of Mufti Sayeed that the PDP-BJP alliance was restricted to the state only and not the Centre put paid to the ministerial ambitions of both.
Mehbooba Mufti, the People’s Democratic Party President is a strong politician. For years, she’s been the former Chief Minister’s and her father’s grip at ground level. She knows her region and according to political experts she will overcome the political problems, if any.
The Important challenges left before her is to bring the state back on its feet after the natural calamity that hit it – infrastructure, issues of unemployment, agriculture, etc.
The views expressed in this article is author’s own and Kashmir scenario doesnot take any responsibility of the content. The author hails from Buchoo area of Kokernag.