“And so, it comes to pass.” Ominous words by Omar Abdullah, as the BJP-PDP alliance formally ended today afternoon. The BJP at its most opportunistic, wilfully plunging the Valley into (hopefully not, fingers crossed) even more uncertainty. This alliance was always under stress, with someone from the PDP using a rape analogy to justify it (see tweet here):
https://twitter.com/babaumarr/status/1009023264381964289?s=21
So why did they join hands, and why did they part ways?
If we look at it with cynical eyes, we can see that both events reek of opportunism. At the time of joining hands, it was an excellent opportunity for both parties to have a go at power (The Agenda of Alliance Notwithstanding). Unholy as the alliance was, it was doomed from the start.
The two parties couldn’t have been different, couldn’t have had more difficult political compulsions, yet, they had to stick it out somehow, and put out a brave face to the media and outside world.
Everyone was waiting for it to end, one almost thought it couldn’t go on after Mufti Sayyed’s death, or the Kathua row.
But on it did go.
The straw that broke the camel’s back (at least that is what they are telling us) was Shujaat Bukhari’s murder and the argument over the Ceasefire extension.
However, the cynic in me says that this was done keeping an eye on the 2019 elections. And this is where one feels bad for Mehbooba Mufti, by not taking the chance to get out of the alliance when she could, and take the moral high ground, she chose to cede the same high ground to the BJP.
The BJP’s vote base must be ecstatic, this will be taken as a victory for the Jammu region (Ram Madhav did mention “partiality” towards Jammu in the presser, as one of the reasons for withdrawing support), also, the jingoistic crowd in the mainland is being fed the rhetoric of “free hand to the armed forces now”. As if.
Where does this leave the PDP?
Red-faced, support withdrawn in a presser, while the government was at work in the secretariat. The PDP is almost finished now, by choosing to grab on to power, and standing by the alliance even when it was blatantly against its own voter base, has completely alienated it amongst its own people.
If elections are held right now, I am sure Mehbooba Mufti will lose the deposit. As far as Kashmir is concerned, it is poised for another spell of Governor’s rule, whether it is the gentler N N Vohra or the more muscular G D Bakshi, is an acid test for the President. After stabbing Kashmir in the heart, the BJP has stabbed PDP in the back. Let good sense prevail.