JAMMU: Never ever in sixteen years of existence as Peoples Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti, one of the six founding members, must have found herself at the cross roads of political odyssey to take a decision independent of her illustrious father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. Notwithstanding BJP’s muscle flexing and Omar Abdullah’s pressure tactics, the lady who built the party from idiomatic rags to riches has a reason to take her time in deciding the future course of action vis-a-vis forming a government. It is certainly not a question of moving into the corridors of power but it is more about retaining the grandeur and texture of a regional political outfit that could take on roaring National Conference.
Not going into the ‘gossip’ that Peoples’ Democratic Party was a brainchild of Lal Krishan Advani and the Research and Analysis Wing to humble Abdullahs National Conference, which had not only hit back to power after six years of political exile due to crucial times and Governor’s Rule with two-third majority but also passed a Resolution demanding greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, the then NDA government wanted to push back the raging tiger to its cage. The PDP was the only potential answer.
If at all a New Delhi creation, which many in Kashmir disbelieve, the bet worked and Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s PDP emerged as a black horse, despite being third in the tally of 2002 assembly elections. The Mufti became the Chief Minister and PDP emerged as a new phenomenon. And this may the strength of the departed Mufti that took the risk of aligning with BJP, a political outcast in Kashmir, perhaps with a view to get funds for devastated Jammu and Kashmir and assuaging aspirations of the people. The hopes, however, belied and the Mufti died broken hearted with his party getting marginalized in its strong-hold. This is perhaps bothering Mehbooba Mufti, who is taking her own time about continuing the alliance with BJP.
After meteoric rise in just 16 years of existence, PDP is this time fighting for its survival. It has to decide between steering out of the morass it got into in March last year and facing annihilation. Mehbooba Mufti cannot script the latter. She has been a sole fighter, despite the senior Mufti around, to garner support, convert it into strength and make her party a force to reckon with. That is what she did and gifted a government to her father not once but twice. She made her party a formidable political parallel to mighty National Conference, which got relegated to third slot-a shock to its detractors also.
Apart from Kashmir factor, Mehbooba Mufti is not naïve to the fact that BJP is fast losing a grip and graph in its once strong-hold of Jammu because of non-performance, nepotism, corruption and personal ambitions of its ministers. They virtually took the people of Jammu and the senior coalition partner PDP during ten-month tenure as for granted. The BJP has distanced too far from its support base, which Mehbooba has a reason to take note of. Her PDP had joined hands with the BJP just to forge an emotional integration between the regions of Kashmir and Jammu. The party could not have afforded to antagonize a region that elected 25 members of a same party, which is seen as red rag in Kashmir. Therefore, the BJP, which stands rejected by its own people, cannot be a comfortable cushion to PDP. Can PDP afford to carry the discarded baggage of Jammu and risk whatever little support-base it retains in the Valley? Certainly not! Mehbooba Mufti will, therefore, have to take certain tough decisions, which may of course appear to be discrediting the wisdom of her father who had aligned with it. She cannot be a mute spectator to see her father’s dream party getting marginalized and annihilated. She knows that it is PDP which is the legacy of her father and not the BJP.
Politics is all about feeling pulse of the people and arriving at right decision despite temptation of riding the stairs of power. She is too taller than the seat of power awaiting her.