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Why is Azad indecisive about returning to state? | | | Rustam JAMMU, June 12: Why is Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad indecisive about returning to state politics? The reasons are not far to seek. The reason is that the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, like in 5th rest of the country, has become thoroughly unpopular and there is hardly any taker for it in the state where it has been acting like a B-team of the arrogant and unaccommodating National Conference. The fact of the matter is that the Congress lost its way in the state after Indira Gandhi brought down her own party's Government in Jammu and Kashmir in 1975 and handed over the state power to Sheikh Abdullah whom her father Jawaharlal Nehru had got dismissed and arrested in August 1953 on the charge of sedition. This mind-boggling decision of Indira Gandhi helped the deflated Sheikh to restore the ground he had lost over the period and rendered her own party virtually irrelevant in the state. Ever since 1975, the local Congress leadership has been trying to come to the centre stage in the state but with no result. Of course, it is enjoying the loaves and fishes of office since November 2002, but at its own peril. It is important to note that the Congress has lost its political space in Ladakh to the BJP, which created history in the just-held Lok Sabha election by winning the lone Lok Sabha seat in the cold-desert Ladakh that returns four members to the Assembly. Nawang Rigzin Jora, Minister in the Omar Abdullah Government, and leaders like P Namgyal and T Samphal have little or no say in the region because they do not have the backing of the high command. The high command through its JKPCC chief has been openly snubbing the local Congress leadership in Ladakh. The likes of Jora lost the confidence of the people the day the JKPCC chief under pressure from the Valley-centric Kashmiri leaders like Geelani, Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah rejected out of hand the demand of the local Ladakhi leadership seeking UT status for the reason. It is difficult to say that the Congress would be able to restore the political space it lost to the BJP, which is committed to granting UT status to the region. As for Kashmir, the Congress has little or no say. At best, its area of influence is confined to a couple of Assembly segments. In Kashmir, it is now a competition between the NC and the PDP with the former at the receiving end and the latter gaining ground with each passing day. The fact is that the NC, like the Congress, has lost its appeal and sheen and this could be seen from the party's massive defeat in the just-concluded Lok Sabha election. There are reasons to believe that the PDP would perform well in the upcoming Assembly elections. Remember, the NC got only about 10 per cent of the total votes polled. The truth is that the Congress cannot depend on a party which itself has declined and that it would be a victory of sorts if the Congress wins even two out of 46 seats in the Valley. The story of the Congress in Jammu province that elects 37 members to the Assembly is no different. There are at least 25 Assembly segments in Jammu province where the BJP is in a commanding position. The Panthers Party too has its support-base in 2-3 constituencies. In other words, there are 28 Assembly segments where the Congress is quite weak. In the remaining 9 Assembly segments, the competition is between the Congress, NC and the PDP. Of course, the Congress is strong in the erstwhile Doda district because Azad belongs to this part of the state. The Congress could win five to six seats in Jammu province. It would not be out of place to mention here that the Congress has never won more than 15 seats in this province after 1984. It was in 2002 that the Congress had won 15 seats and in 2008 its tally was 13 seats. But gone are the days when it would win 13 to 15 seats in Jammu province. Things have changed and changed completely with the BJP under the leadership of Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi gaining more and more political ground with each passing day. The moral of the story is that the Congress is unlikely to win even 10 seats in the 87-member house and hence, reluctance on the part of Azad to take the plunge. |
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