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| Fearing defeat, Farooq seeks Mir's support to Shariq | | What an irony! | |
Rustam
JAMMU, Apr 17: Gone are the days when the Abdullahs' writ ran in the Valley and they were considered undisputed leaders. The National Conference (NC), which was founded by Sheikh Abdullah in 1938, was considered the most important factor in Kashmir and its ideology was not just anti-Dogra and anti-Jammu, but also highly communal. Even after 76 years, its ideology remains the same. In fact, the Abdullahs have given a more radical orientation to their ideology. Before 1947, the NC leaders used to condemn Jammu and Jammu Dogras and since October 1947, they have not only been systematically excluding Jammu province and its people from all walks of life to consolidate Srinagar's control over the state's polity, economy and nation-building departments, but also doing all to get Jammu and Kashmir out of the ambit of the Indian Constitution and the Indian institutions so that the state becomes independent from New Delhi.
However, it is a different story that its regressive and essentially anti-India ideology started boomeranging after 1996. That the Abdullahs had lost their sheen and appeal and that their ideology had created a wall of hatred between them and an overwhelming majority of population in Jammu province became clear in 2002, when the people voted the NC out of power and reduced its tally of 57 seats in 1996 to just 28 in 2002. It was its first comprehensive defeat. It remained in opposition for full six years from 2002 and 2008, but failed to restore the lost ground. Such was the extent and level of their unpopularity. In 2008, its tally remained the same. Not just this, its vote share also fell in the Kashmir valley, its stronghold. In fact, the NC won less number of seats and got less number of votes in the Valley as compared to the newly founded People's Democratic Party (PDP).
It was no wonder then that it contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Kashmir valley in alliance with the Congress to avert defeat at the hands of the PDP. In 2014 as well, the NC forged a pre-poll alliance with the Congress and endorsed the 2009 seat-sharing formula hoping it would replicate 2008 in 2014. But much to their discomfort, the prevailing political environment in the Valley is quite hostile towards the Kashmir's premier political outfit. The PDP has up set its applecart to the extent that Farooq Abdullah's NC is finding it difficult to win the election from Baramulla Parliamentary constituency. That he is not confident of his party's victory and that he needs the support not only of the Congress but also Kashmiri leaders like bitter critic of the NC and all the Abdullahs, including Sheikh Abdullah, Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir could be seen from what the frightened and rattled Farooq Abdullah did on Wednesday to improve poll prospects of his party. Yesterday, he apologized to Ghulam Hassan Mir for any mistake, if committed by the NC in the past. "Mir Sahib should leave his annoyance. I apologize to him if we have done any mistake in the past," Farooq said while addressing party workers after NC-Congress coalition candidate for the Baramulla parliamentary constituency Sharief-ud-Din Shariq filed his nomination. Mir, who was also present at the meeting, was urged by Farooq Abdullah to "join hands and help in ensuring the victory of the coalition candidate".
It bears recalling that only last September, the NC had demanded Mir's resignation on moral grounds after former Army Chief General VK Singh revealed that politicians in Jammu and Kashmir were paid for getting some jobs done. Farooq's brother, Mustafa Kamaal, had levelled serious charges against the Agriculture Minister. Earlier, Mir had denounced Sheikh Abdullah saying he and others of his ilk all along exploited the people of Kashmir to enjoy power and Mustafa Kamaal had dubbed him as an agent of the Indian Army and man of agencies. This is the situation in the Kashmir valley. It is an irony that a party that ruled the roost for decades is today making passionate pleas to its bitter political foes to help it surmount the challenge the PDP has been posing. The NC leadership itself is responsible for the trouble it is in. |
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