Prof. Farooq Fayaz
The political clime that emerged in Jammu & Kashmir after the death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7, 2016, could best be equated with a literary expression known as “Theatre of Absurd”, a term coined to denote a kind of theatrics which not only keeps audience in a puzzling state of mind till the end of the drama but even the actors involved fail to reach at any given conclusion. The politics of silence given currency by PDP leadership both as an apparatus and strategy has left political analysts guessing about the prospective political developments in the State. This sort of unique political apparatus is generally put into operation in a situation which is generally conditioned by mistrust and scepticism.
Viewing against the background of the present political atmosphere, the PDP leadership, is justified in maintaining dignified silence whether to restich its alliance with BJP to form coalition government or not. The decision of Mehbooba Mufti, President PDP to desist from immediately gliding to the seat of power and create history to be the first lady Chief Minister of the state and instead selecting a path that symbolically communicated to BJP, that PDP seldom prefers power to principle. This move of Mehbooba Mufti not only elevated her status in the political circles of the State, but also lessened a gap which had been earlier created between the public and the party during the ten month Coalition Government under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Unlike her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti belongs to that breed of young politicians whose political career is fashioned more by regional colour and character than painted by the unionist agenda. The creation of PDP in 1999, though, was the dream child of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed but it was left to Mehbooba Mufti to make the new political entity a reality in the State. By creating a respectable space for regional sentiment, she gradually succeeded to transform the new party into a viable regional alternative to National Conference. As a president of Peoples Democratic Party, she even, during the BJP_PDP coalition very attentively watched the developments and at times indirectly hinted to some of the unpleasing gestures shown by the cadres of one of the coalition partner. She seems to be principally convinced that if at this critical juncture she blindly jumps to conclusions without analyzing seriously the ground realities and gets lured by power driven ambitions and false assurances, it would for sure cause an irreparable dent to her political credibility and the image of the party. This stands reflected from her recent speech which she addressed while presiding over the party leaders meeting held recently in Srinagar. In her address she categorically articulated that “she won’t mind walking alone if she feels that the continuance of her party’s alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party fails to achieve the political and developmental commitments outlined in the Agenda of Alliance. Chairing a meeting of legislators, Senior leaders and Zonal party presidents, Mehbooba Mufti asserted in unambiguous terms that if BJP agrees in practice to address the political and developmental vision of her late father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in toto , then in such a case, she would be having no objection to run the Government with BJP. But at the same time, she made it clear, that if the party fails to achieve the set goals, she won’t compromise, even if she is left alone in this battle. She won’t mind if she has to start from zero again. But she won’t betray people and her father’s vision.
With the appearance of this statement in the press, though, the politics of silence assumed new dimension and there started a fresh process of counter statements and political activities to explore the possibility of Government formation in the State but it has given rise to expectations and possibilities of other options regarding Government formation or political developments in the state too.
In the days to come there is every possibility for people to witness unexpected political developments full of suspense, puzzle and surprise.
The PDP leadership if succeeds in convincing BJP Central leadership to translate the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed into action within a stipulated time frame, it may, doubtlessly, be the biggest political victory for the party and as such it may prove to be the matchless coalition in the political history of the State. The serious review of the “Agenda of Alliance” brings it to fore that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s vision as reflected in the mutually agreed “Agenda of Alliance” addressed both external as well as internal dimension of Kashmir problem .Judging from this perspective, PDP’s alliance with BJP was not altogether an experiment of defeat and failure but what made the experiment a failure was BJP’s unnecessary interference and that too from its State unit in creating unnecessary hurdles to address the issues specially concerned to regional aspirations. Had BJP shown even a slightest degree of magnanimity and brought a fraction of change in its conventional stand on Kashmir, the move would have certainly led to a change in the mindset of Kashmiris towards the orthodox BJP .Under these circumstances, the stand taken by PDP, not to rush blindly for Government formation, but to get cemented assurances from top brass of BJP leadership to execute the shared agenda of alliance, speaks of its high political values.
The performance of any political organization is not only judged and assessed from the parameters of delivery but also through the commitment of the party towards the pledges made to people. If BJP shows reluctance in carrying forward the “Common Minimum Programme,” it will never be treated as a defeat for Peoples Democratic Party, instead, it will help in recreating a respectable space for the party in the constituency of public faith. Yes, of-course, if PDP agrees to continue its coalition in the days to come with BJP without seeking prior guarantee for the implementation of the agreed agenda, it would definitely prove suicidal for the party. Further it will endorse the allegations of the politicians who dub this kind of politics as gimmickry and drama.
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