Hari Om
With Mehbooba Mufti holding her cards regarding Government formation in J&K close to chest, and the BJP reluctant to buckle under PDP pressure, a mid-term poll appears to be the one viable option to end uncertainty
The possibility of the Peoples
Democratic Party re-forging
an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a coalition Government in the sensitive border State of Jammu & Kashmir appears to be remote. This became clear on January 31, when senior party leaders met in Srinagar under the presidentship of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, to discuss Government formation in the State. Leaders of the party have left the issue of Government formation, with or without the BJP, to the care of Ms Mufti.
Addressing the meeting, Ms Mufti said that she was not averse to Government formation, but won't burn her fingers for nothing. She also spoke about her father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed taking "a courageous, although unpopular, decision of aligning with the BJP with a hope that the Union Government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take decisive measures to address the core political and economic issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir and its people". She regretted that "the Mufti's dream remained largely unaddressed during his 10-month tenure".
The upshot of her address was that the PDP can't form a Government just for the sake of power, but if it does, it will be as envisioned by the Mufti, with the objective of addressing the core political and economic issues that confront the State.
The unwillingness of the PDP to form a Government with the BJP at this point establishes the fact that Ms Mufti didn't get any assurance from BJP bigwigs all these days since Governor's rule was imposed in the State, that she will have a "freehand to run the Government". (Governor's rule was imposed in the State on January 8, a day after the demise of the Mufti). But more than that it is also clearly indicated that the 'under pressure' BJP did not take accommodating attitude towards the PDP's other demands.
The PDP's demand includes association of Ms Mufti with the India-Pakistan dialogue on Jammu & Kashmir, involvement of Kashmiri separatists in the India-Pakistan dialogue, revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act under which the Armed Forces involved in anti-insurgency operation in the State enjoy legal immunity, vacation of land which the Army uses for training and defence purposes, return of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation-managed power projects to the State Government, liberal financial aid from the Union Government, and an assurance that the BJP will not rake up any controversial issues.
The PDP considers the Agenda of Alliance a "sacred document" and believes that if the Mufti's vision is to be translated into reality, its implementation in letter and spirit within a timeframe is imperative. After all, Ms Mufti has to take care of and cater to the 'sensitivities' of her core constituency in Kashmir and keep her disparate flock together.
Ms Mufti was aware of the fact that Government formation with the BJP, without re-negotiating the Agenda of Alliance, will be political hara-kiri. As many as two of the three Members of Lok Sabha, 18 of the 27 MLAs, and four MLCs are vehemently opposed to any kind of truck with the BJP. She also cannot overlook the fact that there is a trust deficit between the BJP and the Kashmiri Muslims who consider the party to be 'anti-Kashmir' and 'anti-Muslim'.
The BJP is also facing a similar problem in Jammu and Ladakh that are its core constituencies. People of these two regions of the State, like the people of Kashmir, never appreciated the political marriage between what the Mufti used to call North and South Poles.
What, then, is a viable option to end the state of uncertainty in Jammu & Kashmir? Mid-term polls appear to be the only option. The reasons are not far to seek. The PDP, which has 27 MLAs (all Muslims) in the 87-member Legislative Assembly, cannot tie up with the Congress.
There are three reasons for this. First, the PDP and the Congress do not have the required number of seats. Added together, their strength will be 39, five short of the magic number. Even if all the three independent Kashmir-based MLAs offered their support to the PDP-Congress coalition, it will still need the support of two more members, which will not be forthcoming.
Second, all members of the Assembly, barring three, will be Muslims. The remaining three are Buddhists from Ladakh. The Jammu electorate didn't return to the Assembly even a single Hindu Legislator in 2014. This happened for the first time in the State's turbulent electoral history.
Third, the exclusion of Jammu from the Government will prove to be highly counter-productive. There should be no doubt about it. Jammu is an important factor in the State's political situation, whatever one may think of it. It has to be reckoned with and recognised.
(Courtesy" The Pioneer) |
