ANANTNAG: In the rough and tumble of the post-Article 370 elections, Kashmir is seeing the invisible hand of "Delhi" behind everything, from the deluge of independent candidates to the surfeit of new parties pitching a hardline. And on the back foot is PDP , which tied up with BJP that opened the floodgates.
The Kashmir contest will decide the fate of PDP, which, in its 25th year of existence, is in a battle of survival. Voting in south Kashmir in the first phase, the stronghold of PDP, will set the tone. It is significant that Mehbooba Mufti , who lost the Lok Sabha election to NC from Anantnag, has opted out of the assembly polls and is instead campaigning with gusto to ensure the party stays afloat. In her place, debutant daughter Iltija Mufti has become the third generation of Mufti clan to join electoral politics, and is in a keen fight from family borough Bijbehara.
Mohd Ibrahim in Dooru-Shahbad echoed the many political analysts by remarking, "PDP knows it is fighting against serious odds."
All regional parties of Kashmir have had a dalliance with BJP after it came to power in Delhi in 1998. But the benign face of Vajpayee and BJP's lack of ambition in Kashmir region did not roil the politics. In contrast, the aggression of PM Modi's BJP, which took away special status for J&K and downgraded it to a UT, is raising suspicions about Independents or new parties like Engineer Rashid 's AIP, Ghulam Nabi Azad 's DPAP or Apni Party.
For PDP, this ubiquitous search for the "Delhi hand" has proved a nightmare scenario because it struck an alliance with BJP in 2015 and brought it to power in the state. Some believe PDP would have breezed past its earlier partnership with BJP, especially since the latter broke the tieup in 2018. But Centre's 2019 decision on Article 370 and the subsequent clampdown renewed the glare on PDP, in retrospect.
The party appears alone, facing fire from all sides. While Engineer Rashid, who won the LS election in Baramulla from prison defeating NC's Omar Abdullah and who has presented himself as the "untainted" one, is targetting PDP and NC, in a cold blooded move distanced itself from the Mufti outfit after aligning with it as part of the 'Gupkar alliance' created as the resistance bloc in the post-370 scenario. Besides, this year, the banned Jamaat-e-Islami is fighting elections after three decades by supporting Independents and Rashid's candidates, and even fielding its own Independents. The direct loser of the Jamaat move could be PDP which was boosted by Jamaat support for years.
Seats across Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama will decide if PDP has a future in an increasingly competitive turf. Recently, Mehbooba tugged emotional chords by praising the people for changing the "two party" political culture, referring to PDP's founding in 1999.
The Kashmir contest will decide the fate of PDP, which, in its 25th year of existence, is in a battle of survival. Voting in south Kashmir in the first phase, the stronghold of PDP, will set the tone. It is significant that Mehbooba Mufti , who lost the Lok Sabha election to NC from Anantnag, has opted out of the assembly polls and is instead campaigning with gusto to ensure the party stays afloat. In her place, debutant daughter Iltija Mufti has become the third generation of Mufti clan to join electoral politics, and is in a keen fight from family borough Bijbehara.
Mohd Ibrahim in Dooru-Shahbad echoed the many political analysts by remarking, "PDP knows it is fighting against serious odds."
All regional parties of Kashmir have had a dalliance with BJP after it came to power in Delhi in 1998. But the benign face of Vajpayee and BJP's lack of ambition in Kashmir region did not roil the politics. In contrast, the aggression of PM Modi's BJP, which took away special status for J&K and downgraded it to a UT, is raising suspicions about Independents or new parties like Engineer Rashid 's AIP, Ghulam Nabi Azad 's DPAP or Apni Party.
For PDP, this ubiquitous search for the "Delhi hand" has proved a nightmare scenario because it struck an alliance with BJP in 2015 and brought it to power in the state. Some believe PDP would have breezed past its earlier partnership with BJP, especially since the latter broke the tieup in 2018. But Centre's 2019 decision on Article 370 and the subsequent clampdown renewed the glare on PDP, in retrospect.
The party appears alone, facing fire from all sides. While Engineer Rashid, who won the LS election in Baramulla from prison defeating NC's Omar Abdullah and who has presented himself as the "untainted" one, is targetting PDP and NC, in a cold blooded move distanced itself from the Mufti outfit after aligning with it as part of the 'Gupkar alliance' created as the resistance bloc in the post-370 scenario. Besides, this year, the banned Jamaat-e-Islami is fighting elections after three decades by supporting Independents and Rashid's candidates, and even fielding its own Independents. The direct loser of the Jamaat move could be PDP which was boosted by Jamaat support for years.
Seats across Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama will decide if PDP has a future in an increasingly competitive turf. Recently, Mehbooba tugged emotional chords by praising the people for changing the "two party" political culture, referring to PDP's founding in 1999.
