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| Political instability in Delhi helping NCRustam | | Advantage Omar | | JAMMU, Dec 15: An overwhelming majority of Congressmen, barring perhaps Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla, Medical Education and Sports Minister RS Chib and Public Health Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din, wants the Congress high command to revive the 2002 power-sharing formula and replace Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with Congress leader on or before January 5, 2012, when the present incumbent would complete three years in office. Even the JKPCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz never overruled the possibility of change of guard. In fact, only last month he told a local daily that all options were open and that the PDP-Congress coalition government had functioned quite well. What he said was self-explanatory. It needs to be underlined that the relations between him and the NC leaders, especially Omar Abdullah, were, and not, really cordial. The reason is that Omar Abdullah has at no point of time during these last more than 35 months taken Prof Soz into confidence. The memory of open spat between the two is still fresh in the people's mind.
A number of senior Congress leaders, including Karan Singh and M L Fotedar, had also assured the votaries of rotational chief minister that they would talk with the Congress high command in this regard. Karan Singh had even gone to the extent of saying in Srinagar last summer that the continuation of Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister after January 5, 2012, will not be in the larger interest of the Congress party and that the change was a must to protect and advance further the political interests of the party in Jammu and Kashmir.
It appeared not-so-long-ago that the Congress high command could respect the sentiments of the local Congressmen and implement the 2002 power-sharing formula. But the developments as they unfolded in New Delhi during the last couple of months have changed the whole scenario. The Congress is under severe attack. It has lost its sheen, appeal and the way and finding it extremely difficult to hold its own against the United opposition as well as its own allies, especially the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Bannerjee and the DMK of extremely angry Karunanidhi. These are not dependable allies. They can part ways anytime because of local compulsions and ideological considerations. Home Minister P Chidambaram has also added to the problems of the Congress. He is on the defensive. The Congress is defending him but no one is buying its arguments.
The Congress-led UPA government is, in addition, mired in several controversies and nobody can predict what is in store for this government consisting of disparate elements. The issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has weakened both the Congress and the UPA government to the extent that the India-watchers have started saying that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has completely lost his legitimacy and that he is not at all in command. It's true that the Prime Minister has not been able to act in the manner in wants. The story of UPA II is a story in contrast.
Social activist Anna Hazare and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev factors have worked, and continue to work, both against the Congress and the UPA Government. Leave aside the serious corruption charges against the UPA Government. Anna and Ramdev factors have virtually rattled the Congress and made the UPA Government dysfunctional for all practical purpose. Both Anna and Ramdev, besides Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, are likely to intensify their activities both against the Congress and the UPA and they have stated again and again that they would campaign against the Congress in the forthcoming assembly elections in five states, including the very crucial Uttar Pradesh where AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi has been campaigning for quite sometime now. The Congress is mortally afraid of Anna and Ramdev.
The nervousness of the Congress could be measured from the fact that it is working overtime to find new allies. In fact, it entered into pre-poll alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal only the other day and made up its mind to induct its president Ajit Singh into the Union Council of Ministers. Ajit Singh's party has five MPs in the Lok Sabha. The Congress has taken this step because it is not sure of its strength in the Lok Sabha. The situation is such that the Congress just can't afford to show the NC the door because the NC has three members in the Lok Sabha and they are very crucial for the Congress. Besides, the Congress high command also wants to use Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah during the election campaign, especially in Uttar Pradesh where the Muslims constitute nearly 15 per cent of population.
All these factors have gone in favour of the NC and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, notwithstanding their acts of omission and commission, including the scathing attacks on the Army. In short, it's advantage the NC and Omar Abdullah. |
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