On the recent demise of her stalwart father, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, the continued reluctance of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti to take the needed political steps to form th
On the recent demise of her stalwart father, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, the continued reluctance of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti to take the needed political steps to form the next government are indeed puzzling. After all, until only a few weeks ago there was an elected coalition government of the PDP and BJP in place, formed only nine months earlier.
It was obvious that the late CM was having difficulties in running the government and getting the development works and Central financial assistance that he sought. But he was nowhere near breaking ties with the BJP, although the two parties are poles apart and the BJP was frequently engaged in needless political needling of the PDP.
The mourning period for the deceased PDP founder is long over and any unconscionable delay in offering the people of Jammu and Kashmir a viable elected government is bad for the people and bad for the country, besides being very bad for the PDP, the regional party that has emerged as a rival to the decades-old National Conference in recent years. The PDP’s inability to continue with the government is bound to reflect poorly on its capabilities.
There is a strong sense in Kashmir that associating with the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre, has not brought the state the hoped-for benefits, and the PDP’s stock may have suffered as a result. If that’s also the PDP’s perception, as some believe it is, then the party could look for other options.
But this should be done only after formally engaging BJP in talks about reviving the alliance in the changed climate after the Mufti’s death, as the PDP-BJP combine is arithmetically the only stable combine.
Of course, arithmetic is not everything. This is clear from the fact that the PDP-BJP set-up under the late Mufti faced regular political hiccups. But changing course without a serious discussion with BJP may give the impression that the PDP president may be resiling from her father’s vision. The apprehension was voiced in the recent conclave of senior PDP leaders.
But it will be short-sighted to see the deceased leader’s vision as partnering the BJP, or any particular party, for all time. Surely what the Mufti really envisaged was the advance of his people, and not a particular type of government-coalition.
The PDP should go forward keeping this in view, and explore all options of government-formation fairly soon. However, if Mehbooba finds herself unable or unwilling to do so, she should indeed recommend the dissolution of the state legislature, as the National Conference has proposed. That would only be appropriate. Letting Governor’s Rule linger for no apparent reason is bad for democracy.
