By Sagarneel Sinha
The hurried dissolution of Jammu & Kashmir assembly, already in suspension since June this year when the BJP walked out of the Mehbooba Mufti led PDP–BJP coalition government, by Governor Satyapal Malik has once again shown that New Delhi is not identical with the ground realities of the state. No doubt, this decision was taken by the governor at the behest of the Centre.
The decision to dissolve the assembly was definitely erroneous. First of all, governor Malik’s arguments that the alliance (PDP, NC and Congress) was guided by political opportunism and wouldn’t be healthy to the current situation of the state don’t stand scrutiny. It is true that the alliance is opportunistic, but it is a reality in politics and the governor’s role is to check whether they have the required numbers — not the opportunism of political parties. The state had seen politically incoherent governments before, like the PDP-BJP and PDP-Congress governments. NC too had allied with the BJP during the Vajpayee era. Another reason given by the governor that the dissolution was to prevent horse trading totally falls flat. If that was the reason then why wasn’t the assembly dissolved before? The reason was only to facilitate BJP’s efforts to form its own government by breaking the PDP with the help of Sajjad Lone.
Had PDP, NC and Congress formed the government, they wouldn’t have been much successful given their political contradictions and would have earned the distrust of the state voters. Already, there are lucid signs of PDP’s weakening in the valley. Added to that, both parties’ boycott of the urban polls and now the ongoing local polls has only helped the BJP and Sajjad Lone to gain ground in the valley. In the urban polls, BJP bagged 100 wards and emerged as the single largest party in 12 municipalities. Also, its ally PC fared well in the valley with the election of its candidate Junaid Azim Matto, a former NC spokesperson, as the mayor of Srinagar Municipal Council with the support of BJP. It is to be noted that the average polling of the valley in the urban polls was a little above only 4%. However, there are signs of change in the valley with 64% and 52% polling in two phases of the ongoing local polls despite boycott calls from the separatists.
Many in the valley have always looked towards New Delhi to solve the mess created by the Pakistan-aided separatists. For that, New Delhi has to engage directly with the locals of the valley and it will be possible only through a correct political strategy. In order to do that New Delhi’s ruling party has to gain the trust of the common Kashmiris — ignored earlier by the previous ruling party. Presently, the Centre’s ruling party has the golden chance of marking itself as a voice in the valley with the help of former separatist Sajjad Lone. But, the decision of the governor at the behest of the Centre actually boxed the BJP at a time when the battlefield is left open for the party by the two major parties of the state. This has sent a wrong message to the valley that the BJP is not a party with difference as it claims — and is similar to the previous one — the Congress..
The Centre has to be careful against committing political blunders, which will only act as a wall against it to know the pulse of the common Kashmiris — which will only help the separatists. So, apart from pursuing a strong military strategy, New Delhi definitely needs to play a major role to create space for democratic forces if separatism is to be defeated. It should now ensure that assembly elections are held as soon as possible or along with the Lok Sabha elections instead of keeping the state under President’s rule for a longer time. Simply flexing muscles sitting in New Delhi — just like the previous Congress governments of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi — would never work, but will only adversely affect the Centre’s already fragile image in the valley. (IPA Service)
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