Daughter of the founder of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti (60) became J & K’s chief prime minister in 2016 after her father, who was CM at the time, died after a brief illness.
From carrying his father’s alliance with the BJP in 2015 to his breakup in 2018, we take a look at what went wrong: Mehbooba Mufti has been ruthless in his attack on the BJP.
Failed BJP-PDP alliance
In March 2015, the BJP-PDP joined forces to take the reins of Jammu and Kashmir with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed like the prime minister. It was the first time that an alliance was formed between the PDP and the BJP. Mufti Sayeed had called the PDP-BJP coalition a north pole and south pole alliance that are not found under normal circumstances.
But with the death of the PDP founder in July 2016, the future of the coalition was in disarray given the reluctance of Mehbooba Mufti.
After months of deliberation, Mehbooba Mufti finally carried forward his father’s decision to ally with the BJP at J&K, surprising and upsetting many at the same time in the old state, especially in the Valley. But differences had begun to emerge on a number of issues.
However, in June 2018, the BJP withdrew from the alliance, leaving the PDP embarrassed and shocked, ultimately leading to the fall of the coalition government. Since then, both parties have fought each other.
From Article 370 to AFSPA, Kathua minor ceasefire issue violation with Pakistan, the two parties have barely reached an agreement lately.
Cobbling up to the third front
To push the BJP who was trying to forge an alliance with the Sajad Lone People’s Conference in J&K and some disgruntled PDP leaders, the PDP, NC and Congress launched a surprise in November 2018 by announcing the formation of a coalition to form government in the old state.
The PDP had 28 MLAs, followed by NC with 15 and Congress with 12, which would have pushed the alliance well above the majority mark of 44.
However, that attempt was held back by many setbacks, the most important of which was the role of then-J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik.
What followed was the dissolution of the J&K legislature by Malik, just after the PDP, North Carolina and Congress announced that they would make demands to form a government.
Malik’s move ended any such possibility, sparking new bitter relations between the J&K parties and the BJP. Furthermore, the PDP holds the BJP responsible for many of its top leaders breaking ties with the party.
Speaking about the PDP’s break with the BJP, a party leader said that the saffron party “betrayed” them even though there was a set agenda for six plans in which Prime Minister Modi was directly involved. “Not only did they leave the state in limbo, the BJP also tried to dissolve the regional parties here,” said the leader who did not want to be named.
Amendment of article 370
Even before section 370 was amended, Mehbooba Mufti had warned the Center against the proposal, saying that it would be akin to playing with fire and would end J & K’s relationship with India.
Sensing that the BJP government was up to something, NC, PDP, PC, and Congress held an all-party meeting on August 4, 2019, at the residence of Farooq Abdullah, pledging to uphold the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. But the BJP government went ahead and removed Jammu & Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019, and forked the status into two J&K Union territories, and Ladakh.
Most of the leading politicians, including Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Sajad Lone and others were registered under the PSA and detained.
While all the politicians were released one after another by the government in a few months, Mehbooba Mufti was the last. The head of the PDP was released on October 13, more than a year after her arrest.
That, of course, did not help the two parties to bond.
Making of People’s Alliance
Days after the liberation of Mehbooba Mufti, the main political parties in Jammu and Kashmir held a meeting on October 15 and formed an alliance – ‘Peoples Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration’ – to restore the special status of the former such state. as it existed before August. 5 last year.
On October 23, in her first interaction with the media after her release from 14-month detention, the PDP chief appeared to toughen her stance by saying she was not interested in contesting elections or celebrating the national tricolor until constitutional changes applied on August 5 of last year were reversed.
In an act seen as defiance, the former J&K state flag was prominently displayed on a table in front of the PDP chair along with the PDP flag during the press. “This is my flag,” Mehbooba said, pointing to the old state flag, when asked by a journalist about his statement that if Article 370 were changed, there would be no one left to hold the Indian flag. He added that Jammu and Kashmir’s relationship with India was due to the special constitutional position of the old state, which included a separate flag.
His comments were strongly condemned by the BJP, who said that certain Kashmiri-centric politicians practice “policies of opportunism”, as when in power they swear by India and once out of power they question the sovereignty of the country.
What exactly is at stake for Mehbooba and the PDP?
The most important thing for the PDP right now is survival, at any cost. From allying with the BJP to the death of her patron Mufti Sayeed, from Mehbooba Mufti’s “toffee” comment about the murdered children in Kashmir to her revelers leaving her at the most vulnerable moments, nothing has gone quite like the PDP since 2016. The The final nail in the coffin being the removal of J & K’s special status by the same BJP that the PDP allied with.
Therefore, the Mehbooba Mufti per se has little choice but to launch an all-out attack on the Center, trying to appeal to his Kashmir voter base, which is his last chance for survival, given competition from regional parties and the BJP.
Allying with the BJP was never well received by Kashmiris, particularly Muslims, who think that the PDP is the reason why the BJP entered Kashmir and then dared to amend article 370. That is why Kashmiris also blame the PDP by the bifurcation of the state.
During the Mufti government, more than 100 people suffered eye injuries from pellets due to the unrest in the Valley. Among the injured was Hiba Nissar, 18 months old, from Shopian, whose eye was broken by a pellet fired by security forces. Hiba is the youngest victim of the pellet guns used in Kashmir. Human rights organizations have called for a complete ban on its use, but even then the J&K government under the Mehbooba government in September 2016 told a court that firing pellets at protesters was not unconstitutional and that the court should let that the state “decide what method is required” To maintain law and order. This, of course, infuriated Kashmiris and they would prefer the NC or Congress now over the PDP.
Many high-ranking party members left the party after the BJP withdrew from the alliance. While few, including Shiite leader Imran Ansari, joined Sajad Lone’s party, former Education Minister Altaf Bukhari founded his own party, which many believe was at the behest of the BJP. Another senior leader, Haseeb Drabu, a former finance minister, was fired for his comments on Kashmir, while few others were suspended for anti-party activities.
Given the fact that it was the central government in 1997-98 under Vajpayee that encouraged Mufti Sayeed to improvise an alternative party in J&K that would encompass sections between the NC and the separatist camp. Although Mufti Sayeed was the leader at the time, it was Mehbooba Mufti’s tireless efforts that made the PDP victorious in the 2003 elections against the NC. From visiting the families of militants to addressing public anger against the NC, Mehbooba Mufti prepared the groundwork for the PPD.
Mehbooba Mufti, known for her aggressive opposition and not for repressing what she feels, seems to have focused all her criticism on the BJP-led Center, the party that she feels has betrayed her father and his agenda at J&K.
Mehbooba Mufti, as a politician, understands that as long as the BJP is in the Center there is hardly any other way than to be aggressive, otherwise her party would be crushed.
Speaking of the PPD’s strategy for its future, its youth leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra said that right now the fight is for the “identity” and “future” of Kashmir, that it is not an electoral fight. “Individuals do not matter right now, we are willing to sacrifice everything for our identity as Kashmiris. The natives here may be left homeless, jobless, or even landless in the near future. Yesterday’s fears are reality now. So the battle is much bigger than electoral politics, “he added.
Instead of flirting with the BJP, Mehbooba Mufti has chosen to go back to being the North Pole and not be the “B team” of the saffron party, according to party sources.
A loss of voter confidence (having lost the Lok Sabha elections) to leaders who leave the party over the question of their survival, the PPD does not have much to lose given the current scenario. So why not give it your all? It seems to be the PDP chief’s mantra from now on.
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