Wait and watch: Is it a battle between PDP and BJP where NC has been reduced to a mere bystander ELECTION SPECULATIONS @Kashmirupdateslive One fine afternoon, the wise-men constituting the Election Commission of India decided to call a press conference. In-between flashing cameras and a few cups of coffee, the schedule for the J&K Assembly elections, 2014 was presented before the country. The Election Commission had come to the conclusion that the time was ripe to hold elections in the state. Omar Abdullah’s feeble attempt to delay the elections and prolong his role as the Chief Minister of the state had fallen flat. The ball had been set rolling, the stage had been set and the Election Commission stepped aside to make way for the political parties to take over. The game had started, the players all set. National Conference, the oldest player on the horizon, is being led by Omar Abdullah, a man severely burdened by the ‘lack of performance’ tag. His speeches are full of arrogance and badly lack the content and facts that he should have been armed with, as a man who led the state for six long years. You ask him about the lack of response during the floods, he says it is precisely why he wanted to delay the elections as it would have given him time to provide relief to the masses. You ask him about lack of development and he harps on J&K being seen as an ‘unsafe place to invest’. The common Kashmiri took to the streets in 2010 and he failed to soothe and address the rising tempers, he calls it a ‘learning curve’. Common Kashmiri raised many questions on the step motherly treatment that was meted out but did not take to streets when Afzal Guru was executed, Omar Abdullah has today realized that he prevented a backlash after having duly learnt from the 2010 upheaval, the ‘learning curve’. In all his futile defenses, childishly personal jibes and comments, he seems to have forgotten that he has an election ahead of him which, I am afraid, he is not fighting to win, but merely to stay relevant. In-between, his self glorification, arrogance and jibes at his detractors, he seems to attach little or no relevance to the ‘Mood of the masses’ that is resonating from all parts of the state. You try telling him this and he will say ‘Wait till the 23rd’, precisely our point Sir, wait till the 23rd. He goes around calling his detractors liars, just cant resist asking him, was Dr.Farooq Abdullah not being a liar when he called Kashmiris ‘Mahachors’? Or does Omar Abdullah agree with him? Coming to the next big player, the JKPDP, the party is young and is being led by a man who has seen it all. A man for all seasons, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is clearly on a different path. The agenda is clear, the goal is set and the troops are out in the battle field. The way Mufti Sayeed is leading his party is in stark contrast with what Omar Abdullah is doing. There is emphasis on his three year tenure as the Chief Minister of the state, there is no ‘explanation’ that he has to give, he outlines his vision and appears very calm and confident. It is no secret that the BJP (by and large) is not a preferred choice in Kashmir and the ‘Saffron March’ seems to have breached Lakhanpur and many in Kashmir seem to believe that it is only the JKPDP under Mufti Sayeed that can halt this march well before it reaches the Jawahar Tunnel. Able leadership, a meticulous plan, good execution and the public mood seems to hold the PDP in good stead. Moving on, ought to dedicate a few lines to the ‘fringe players’. The separatist’, sorry the ‘Main stream politician’, Oh wait a minute ‘the saffronized mainstream politician’, lets just call him Sajjad Lone and move-on. He has been getting a lot of media coverage ever since he met his ‘elder brother’ who spoke to Lone with ‘respect’ and that’s what Lone had been wanting all this while. Amidst all the media hype surrounding him he would do well to concentrate on Handwara and a couple of adjoining constituencies. He may end up drawing a zero, but should play some kind of a ‘spoiler’ in district Kupwara. One statement of his which indicates that he may be abreast of the ground reality is where he said that he is aiming for a ‘humble entry into the JK assembly’. I have not forgotten the BJP which is on a ‘high’ despite not having a single ‘local face’ to project. The BJP surely is contesting its biggest election in J&K where till now it has always been a non-entity. I intend to keep this article restricted to ‘Kashmir politics’, hence not going into further details. And Yes, I almost forgot the Congress and I can bet so did you. Do not totally count them out, they might still have a role to play in the post result scenario, although it does not seem very likely. It seems to be a clear case of JKPDP versus BJP where the JKNC has been reduced to a complete by-stander and the Congress despite being reduced to the same level might still have some role to play. Time to put the guess-work and analysis to rest and the pens and computers away and wait for the 23rd.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 06:18:14 +0000
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