BLUNT BUTCHER
JAMMU: Mehbooba Mufti’s pursuit to form coalition government with BJP in Jammu and Kashmir is a classic case of iron lady turning into a wax statue. The surprise and swift melt-down has made her vulnerable to shrewd BJP, which has started calling shots to the utter shock and disbelief of ‘fast-dwindling’ supporters of the Muftis.
Considered as brain behind her father during most testing times since the inception of PDP in 1999, Mehbooba Mufti has ended herself up as a political novice. Otherwise, how come the lady who delayed her swearing in as the first woman Chief Minister on 7th January 2016, following the demise of Mufti Sayeed, could be seen rushing to Amit Shah’s 11-Akbar Road, only to get a huge snub next day and that too from Ram Madhav, the person who had camped for days together, along with all his aides, in Srinagar to seek audience with her Mufti and to have a quick word on the government formation. The BJP team had to return amid leaks from Fairview Residence that Mehbooba Mufti did not even pick the repeated calls from Amit Shah. A huge build-up was made around Mehbooba Mufti to showcase her as the real face of Kashmir, which will refuse to budge before New Delhi.
Mehbooba Mufti’s Delhi sojourn was actually manifestation of intrigue played by her own confidants within the party, who kept hobnobbing with BJP for enjoying the loaves of power, as also with National Conference to create confusion and suspicion in Kashmir’s murky politics.
The makeover of Mehbooba Mufti as Iron Lady had been necessitated by the gruesome fact of just 2,800 to 3,000, mostly security personnel, attending her father’s funeral at Bijbehara, the native township of Muftis. Ironically, the locals showed contemptuous indifference, not only by remaining away from the grave-yard but also not observing shut-down, a minimum courtesy extended to any dead in his or her locality. This shocked the Muftis and the top PDP leadership. A huge point had been brought home that the people of Kashmir are dejected with PDP for joining hands with the BJP, a party seen as anti-Muslim, hyper nationalistic and largely communal. BJP serves as a red rag for Kashmiris.
Seeing writing on the wall, Mehbooba Mufti played cool to government formation thus sending the BJP, especially those from Jammu, who were members of Mufti Sayeed’s Council of Ministers, in tizzy. Such was the desperation that the BJP lot appeared to be themselves observing mourning till the Chehlum. This obviously elated the PDP President, who went on a massive mass contact spree under the garb of membership drive. Her image as a person not interested in high profile Chief Ministership started showing results. The people kept turning up in her membership rallies in huge numbers. The dwindling graph post Mufti’s death began reversing. The trick had played well.
Rebounding back of Mehbooba Mufti made arch rivals National Conference uncomfortable. Its Working President took to tweets in a big way and started provoking PDP with an avowed objective of having a PDP-BJP government in place to ensure total annihilation of the Mufti’s legacy. On other fronts also a sustained campaign was launched to push the PDP to the wall. Obviously, the BJP also got unnerved because a strong PDP was not in its interests at all. Hectic closed door consultations became ferocious in New Delhi though the BJP lads in Jammu were kept out of loop. They kept ranting the imperative of PDP-BJP Government, less for the interests of the State and more for their own benefit.
They say that time takes toll of the powerful. It took that of Mehbooba Mufti. Somewhere she erred. Not exactly knowing what she was upto while seeking CBMs, the BJP started asking questions. She had no answers except insisting on assurance for implementation of Agenda of Alliance. The BJP quipped saying the implementation had been in force since the times of Mufti Sayeed. Simultaneously, the BJP led Centre kept taking decisions in the public (read people of Kashmir) interest through Governor N N Vohra, like vacation of lands under the occupation of army or relocation of one or two security forces bunkers. These steps, in fact, served as arm twisting for the PDP. Mehbooba Mufti got in the process projected as an erratic and irresponsible politician who could perhaps be a risk for the high office of the Chief Ministership. BJP High Command started ignoring her. No cognizance was taken to her reconciliatory statements. Frustrated over New Delhi’s silence, she ultimately embarked upon unsuccessful mission to New Delhi, which recoiled, thus denting the image of the PDP and its chief. This is what Amit Shah and company wanted to crush the inflated egos. This is also what National Conference had been aspiring for. The scenario has really turned grim for Mehbooba Mufti. Now it is for her to retrieve back her father’s dream legacy or to preside over its total destruction by offering olive branch to BJP. In case she chooses party over the government, Mehbooba Mufti must tell to her people that she can’t go along the ‘communal’ BJP and also urge the Governor to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.