Even though the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leaders said on Saturday that “all is not over” between the PDP and Bharatiya Janata Party, there seems little doubt that the alliance between the two parties is on its last legs.
After the so-called “secret talks” between the PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti and BJP president Amit Shah, failed to pave the way for a meeting between Mehbooba Mufti and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the message was clear.
The government in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be based on preconditions. Trust cannot be based on any condition. Governments cannot be formed on preconditions. The fact is, since the death of Mufti sahib, the PDP is yet to choose its nominee for the chief minister’s post.Ram Madhav, General Secretary
That may be quibbling with the fine print since everyone in Kashmir and Delhi know who the nominee is.
Madhav, however, said that after being chosen as a chief minister nominee, Mehbooba Mufti could always make demands as is usual for chief ministers while dealing with the centre.
The BJP showed its own version of the ‘iron fist’ even while Modi was witnessing the ‘Iron Fist’ exercises by the country’s armed forces at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
The message to Mehbooba Mufti was clear though couched in polite words – get sworn in on our terms or else, forget it.
Senior PDP leader and one of the party’s founding members, Muzaffar Hussain Baig swung into immediate damage control after Ram Madhav’s statement.
There has been some miscommunication. We have not raised any new conditions. All we have said is we seek a time frame on already agreed terms of alliance between the two parties.Muzaffar Hussain Baig
Stalemate does not mean the talks are over. This is a setback, but that does not mean the talks have reached a dead end.Naeem Akhtar
Mehbooba returned to Srinagar by the first flight on Saturday, after her much-hyped meeting with Modi did not materialise and was instead followed by Ram Madhav’s comments.
The one politician enjoying continuing impasse between the PDP and the BJP is the former chief minister and working president of the regional National Conference, Omar Abdullah.
When the PDP-BJP arrangement looked like it was breaking down on Saturday, Omar took to Twitter to deride Mehbooba Mufti.
All the overtures from the BJP, the NC and even her own party notwithstanding, the fact is, the alliance between the PDP and BJP has developed gaping holes which are visible to all.
The only thing that needs to be watched now is whether Mehbooba Mufti calls off the alliance or waits for another rebuff from the BJP.
(Sheikh Qayoom is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sheikh.abdul@ians.in. This article has been published in a special arrangement with IANS.)
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