|| K. LEADER DESK
The death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7 was a huge personal loss for PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who not only lost a caring father but her political mentor too. The death of PDP patriach has led to a phase of political uncertainity in Jammu and Kashmir as a grieving Mehbooba is yet to make up her mind on the next course of action with regard to government formation in the state. Although Mufti has laid down the plan of action in the Agenda of Alliance (which he formulated with the BJP early last year) for his daughter to follow, the PDP president will have to carry out an indepth analysis of the risk-reward ratio in case she decides to continue her party’s alliance with the BJP in the state. She will have to factor in the developments in the state polity during the first 10-months of the alliance with the BJP and fall out of a possible non-fulfillment of the promises made during the 2014 Assembly elections on her party’s future prospects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s singular focus on development (as evinced in his now famous slogan sabka saath sabka vikaas) could have been the major contributing factor for Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to join hands with the BJP as the PDP founder was of the belief that development, while not a panacea for political problems of the state, could raise the stakes of the people in peace and lead to hammering out a solution to Kashmir problem through peaceful means – and not violence. While the PDP-BJP alliance did not go down well with the people of Kashmir, the predominant support base of the regional party, people of this under-developed state with huge potential were willing to give it a chance. However, not much was achieved while Mufti was the Chief Minister, who tried to put a brave face. The promised massive financial package for rejuvenation of Jammu and Kashmir has so far proved to be a jugglery of numbers with not much meant for projects that could spur the state economy.
An astonishing amount of Rs 23000 crore (of thetotal Rs 80,000 crore package announced by the Prime Minister here on Novemeber 7 last year) is meant for two road projects connecting Leh district to Srinagar and Manali in Himachal Pradesh. A further breakdown of the package indicates that Kashmir, the valley which turned green during the two elections held in 2014, was handed out a raw deal. This is in stark contrast to the liberal funding provided by the Congressled UPA government at the Centre when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was at the helm of the affairs in Jammu and Kashmir. In the Agenda of Alliance, the two parties had agreedto put on the back burner contentious issues which otherwise formed the core of their respective agendas. BJP was not to talk about Article 370 and PDP were not to raise the Self Rule. But Mufti haddeal with one controversy or the other every passing week, hampering his focus of development which had formed the cornerstone of his party’s alliance with the BJP.
The State Flag issue, the challenge to Article 35-A which was in effect a challenge to validity of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that guarantees special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the beef ban issue and the consequential killing of a youth at Udhampur by a right wing mob are just few of the issues that should figure at the top of the list when Mehbooba Mufti reviews the implementation of the Agenda of Alliance from March 1, 2015 to January 7, 2016.
She will also have to figure out whether her alliance with the BJP will be able to deliver on the development front. The return of power projects to the state, an issue that is at the core of the state’s quest towards economic self reliance and part of Agenda of Alliance, establishing smart cities and AIIMS hospitals in the state should be the focal point of her efforts of seeking an assurance from the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the intra-party level, Mehbooba has to grapple with the issue of party presidency. It would require more than a deep thought as to who should be entrusted with expanding the PDP which she and her father nurtured and nourished over the past 16 years. Although nothing in law bars Mehbooba to hold the posts of the Chief Minister and the PDP president simultaneously, she will be going against the precedent set by her father in 2003 when he stepped down as PDP president, months after being sworn in as chief minister.
Here is the Catch-22 that Mehbooba seems to be caught in! The anti-defection law in Jammu and Kashmir so strong that the president of the ruling party can upstage the chief minister at any moment, unless both the posts are with same person or both the persons are on the same page. Given the history of power games in Jammu and Kashmir, most notably the coup led by Ghulam Mohammad Shah against his brotherin- law and then chief minister Farooq Abdullah in 1984, Mehbooba would not want to take any risks and hand over the party reins to someone very close.
The developments since the death of PDP patriarch has shown that Mehbooba’s best bet is her brother, ace cinematographer Tassaduq Hussain, who had shown zero inclination towards politics but seems to have turned a corner in the past week or 10 days. Hussain, who has won awards for his cinematography in Bollywood hit Omkara and bagged some of the better known advertisement campaigns like Incredible India!, took the baby steps in the world of politics by attending the Core group meeting PDP on January 17 where Mehbooba Mufti was authorised to take the final call on government formation.
The little-known son of Mufti did not speak at the meeting but his presence was not lost on anyone. Making a soft entry, few days later Hussain spoke at an information meeting of PDP on theoccasion of ‘Paechwaar’ (15th day of death) for his father. He went a step beyond and interacted with a group of budding entreprenuers couple of days later and they were impressed with his level of knowledge and understading of issues confronting the state, especially the valley. The 44-year-old may not be the heir apparent to the legacy of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed but we can expect to see more of him in coming days,months and years. He could very well be the pillar of strengthMehbooba is looking for to overcome her personal loss.
The 44-year-old may not be the heir apparent to the legacy of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed but we can expect to see more of him in coming days,months and years. He could very well be the pillar of strengthMehbooba is looking for to overcome her personal loss.
The exact reason for Mehbooba delaying her decision on government formation is known only to her but she will have a tough task deciding on future course of action. She can go with BJP, the alliance entered in last year did not go down well with many people including some within the PDP, and risk the future of her party which has seen a meteoric rise over the past 17 years or snap ties to admit that after all Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was also a human and could have erred in his decision.