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Personal & political: why is Mehbooba Mufti giving the BJP a hard time?

Catch Team | Updated on: 14 February 2017, 5:17 IST

When Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away on 7 January, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti's immediate takeover as the new J&K chief minister was a foregone conclusion. The only issues that seemed to lend the development news value concerned Mehbooba's firebrand persona, her "soft separatist" image and the BJP's consequent anxiety about her.



But nine days on, Mehbooba is in no hurry to succeed her late father, forcing the state under Governor's rule. What's more, far from seeking BJP's support, she has left the saffron party desperate to hold on to the coalition, let alone try and extract some concessions from the PDP for backing her for the top job.

Also read - Mehbooba plays hardball. Why it suits her to break with BJP



"Mehboobaji will take a final call on government formation and we are all waiting for her," said senior PDP leader Naeem Akhter. "Meanwhile, the party under the leadership of Mehboobaji will review how much progress we have made over the past ten months in the implementation of the 'Agenda of Alliance'."



This attempt to steer the "Agenda of Alliance" back into public discourse and seek the BJP's renewed commitment to its core points is certain to further strain the ideologically antithetical coalition. It could either lead to an indefinite delay in government formation or, if the differences persist, to a bitter break-up of the alliance.



Political agenda



This sudden turn of events has left many a Kashmir observer scratching their head. What happened between Mufti taking ill on 24 December and his death on 7 January that caused this drastic rethink by Mehbooba? As some of the party's senior leaders privately reveal, even they don't know the answer.



Indeed, on 10 January, speaking with Catch, Akhter insisted that the coalition with the BJP was "here to stay". Two days later, PDP spokesperson Mehboob Beigh told the media that the swearing-in ceremony would be held after the 7-day mourning period was over.



Only after the party withdrew this statement within hours that many PDP leaders realised Mehbooba had something up her sleeve. A day later, Akhter went public with his party's dissatisfaction with the BJP's commitment to their common minimum programme.



"Our governance agenda was to bring back our power projects. It was one of the key components of the 'Agenda of Alliance'," Akther said. "The party will assess whether Government of India has taken any decision on this."

Why PDP is incensed: the Centre's 'pruning of Rs 27,000 crore assistance' to buy back NHPC projects



The PDP is sore about the "unilateral last minute pruning" from the Prime Minister's Rs 80,000 crore J&K economic package of an "agreed" assistance of Rs 27,000 crore for buying back the state's power projects from the NHPC.



The party has also brought up the issue of the paltry aid for the flood victims and the reconstruction of the flood-damaged infrastructure. According to PDP sources, even the Rs 400 crore approved months ago for flood management projects is yet to come.



Similarly, the party also wants the BJP to ensure progress on the vacation of land held unlawfully by the army in the state. It also wants the army to pay rent for the land under its occupation.



"All these issues are part of the Agenda of Alliance," said a party leader. "We want New Delhi to act on them."



Personal peeve



But are these the only issues that are at the root of the current stalemate? Certainly not. Some of the reasons are personal. Mehbooba, the sources said, is not happy with the "routine manner" in which the BJP treated her father's illness and death.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit the ailing Mufti at AIIMS, nor did he go to Kashmir after his demise. This is believed to have deeply hurt Mehbooba, who thought her father, given his political stature, deserved more respect. Overcome by grief and nursing bitterness for the BJP, Mehbooba refused to meet anyone except some close associates and the high profile visitors from New Delhi.

Also read - By the hard way: how Mehbooba Mufti rose to be J&K's CM-in-waiting

Another source of unease was the less-than-expected display of grief in Kashmir over Mufti's sudden demise, a fact that some in the PDP quickly traced to the unhelpful political fallout of the alliance with the BJP, a party generally not liked in the valley for its perceived anti-Muslim stance.



National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's funeral procession in 1982 had attracted an unprecedented 20 lakh mourners to Srinagar. In comparison, the city wore a deserted look when the body of Mufti, once Sheikh's vaunted political rival and a latter-day popular champion of Self Rule, was brought back from New Delhi.



The alliance with the BJP hasn't thus been a win-win as it was billed to be. The PDP has been the loser in the valley with people blaming it for bringing RSS to the state.



Playing guard



Undermining the party further is the ongoing coordinated legal assault on the special constitutional position enjoyed by J&K within the Indian Union. Over the past 10 months, RSS-affiliated NGOs and activists have petitioned courts against features of the Article 370 and the J&K Constitution, with the clear aim to dilute the state's unique position in India.



In the latest case, the J&K High Court, ruling on a petition by a BJP leader, stayed the implementation of a single bench's order mandating simultaneous flying of the Indian and J&K flags in the state.



In 1982, 20 lakh went to Sheikh Abdullah's funeral, very few did for 'Self Rule champion' Mufti. Why?

The PDP and the BJP have not been able to get along on contentious issues, or at least stick with a trade-off in line with their Agenda of Alliance. While the PDP has congratulated itself for stalling the Sangh Parivar's bid to revoke Article 370, the BJP has moved the political discourse on Kashmir away from the resolution of the dispute to the integration of the state into India.



In the valley, the BJP is perceived to have reneged on all its commitments like revocation of the AFSPA, return of power projects, to say nothing of initiating dialogue with the separatist groups.



Besides, the coalition's single most redeeming promise - of economic recovery and rehabilitation of flood victims - has been realised only in breach. The situation now is that while the political and ideological confrontation between the parties has hurtled to the centrestage, almost hobbling the government, governance hasn't made any headway, with rehabilitation of flood victims turning out to be a hope bitterly betrayed.

Is this what is pinching Mehbooba? Very likely. But then getting out of the coalition will be as fraught a decision as staying on. While the Congress may offer the option of an alternative coalition, a hostile central government and the consequent development squeeze and political status quo would undo any gains in the long term.

More in Catch - R.I.P #MuftiSayeed. What will the transfer to Mehbooba mean for J&K

Mehbooba dithers over oath-taking, top leaders' fate hangs in balance

Post Mufti, PDP-BJP coalition is a sinking ship. Can Mehbooba rescue it?

First published: 16 January 2016, 1:50 IST