The People's Democratic Party (PDP) was formed on 27thJuly1999 under the leadership of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.The emergence of PDPin state politics was a significant developmentand it completely changed the dynamics of state politics. Prior to its formation,National Conference which was the first major political party of Kashmir, was losing ground in the valley due to its alliance with the BJP.The contradiction between the BJP and the National Conference on Article 370 had largely antagonised the support base of National Conference in J&K, particularly in Kashmir valley. The National Conference’s increasing unpopularity and gradual decline created a vacuum in the state politics which paved the way for PDP and helped it strengthen its roots in Kashmir. The decision tocreate a separate party (PDP) by leaving the Pradesh State Congress largely reflectsthe political ambitions of Mr Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Professor Gul Mohammad Wani remarks, “There were two factors responsible for launching the new party. First, Mufti’s own political career had got choked in Congress after he became the Home Minister. Second, in Jammu and Kashmir there was a political space available which Mufti wanted to fill up.”
Mufti Mohammed Syed’s new avatar in politics represented a pro-Kashmir shift. The PDP’s party objectives were more radical and aimed at addressing the core concern of the wounded masses of the valley. Some of theimportant principles of the party were:
- The party would act as abridge and mobilise public opinion, both in the state and in the country, to persuadethe centralgovernment to make reconciliation and peace in the state by engaging with all stakeholders.
- To address and articulate the grievances of the people of the State through constitutional means.
- To wage a struggle for the restoration of normalcy, democracy and Rule of Law in the State so that human rights of the people would be duly respected and protected.
These principled appealed largelyto the masses in the state and PDP emerged as a strong force in the subsequent elections, a status the party retains till date. The PDP’s tryst with power started in 2002 when it formed a coalition government with the Congress. The Common Minimum Programme of the coalition government largely reflected the party principles. Its focus on Healing Touch was evident in the Common Minimum Programme.The agenda of Healing Touch was focussed on addressingthe alienation of people of J&K, particularly in the valley of Kashmir. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, infact, somewhat succeeded in making the program a success. He completely withdrew Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA)from thestate, disbanded the Special Operation Group (SOG) and also made efforts to institutionalise a dialogue process between New Delhi and the separatists. He even made efforts for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits and most importantly, he advocated for a sustained dialogue process between India and Pakistan and got positive feedback from Delhi on this.
The PDP’s tryst with power started in 2002 when it formed a coalition government with the Congress. The Common Minimum Programme of the coalition government largely reflected the party principles. Its focus on Healing Touch was evident in the Common Minimum Programme.The agenda of Healing Touch was focussed on addressingthe alienation of people of J&K, particularly in the valley of Kashmir.
The PDP emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly polls of 2014 but short of amajority to form agovernmenton its own. In Jammu, BJP whichrode along the Modi wave, emerged as the second largest party for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. Both the political parties fought against each other. In the Valley, PDP mainly mobilised people’s support against the possible repercussions of the BJP rule. On the other hand,BJP mobilised voters particularly against the dynastic rule of Abdullah’s and Mufti’s.Although both political parties got the mandate from their respective regions, the political expediency brought them close to each other and they formed a coalition government. Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed characterised this coalition as coming together of the North Pole and the South-pole. But what late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed forgot to question was at what cost? When people voted for Mr Mufti, it was to keep the BJP out of the state not to make it a partner in power.In his haste to sit on the chair of power, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed forgotthat Narendra Modi was no Vajpayee and hisgovernment would certainly use this as an opportunity to seize power in J&K. It was clear from the very beginning that it would be an uneasy alliance and would have greater repercussion on the fragile peace in Jammu and Kashmir.Although the coalition government laid down a policy document- Agenda for Alliance,it turned out to be a mere eyewash.The ideological contradiction between the two halted the government. Both alliance partners locked horns on various issues which paralysed the government’s functioning. During the first year of PDP-BJP rule,there was no tangible implementation of the agreed program.The Agenda for Alliance was never respected, particularly by the BJP. The BJP’s jingoistic approach towards sensitive issues spread chaos in the valley. From beef ban to tinkering with the constitutional status of the state and the PDP’s astonishing silence on these issues made the people of Kashmir resent the government. It also brought to fore how PDP was complicit with the BJP on these issues. The refusal of the Central government to engage in dialogue with the Hurriyat conglomeration only proved that PDP was a mere namesake in this coalition and BJP was running the real show. The BJP also didn’t pay heed to the PDP’s suggestion of the government engaging in meaningful dialogue with the separatists even aftercrisis broke in the valley.The letter of inviting the Hurriyat to talk with the parliamentary delegation which Ms Mehbooba Mufti wrote, was written as a PDP chief not as the Chief Minster because the BJP was against that.
The sudden death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had given PDP a rare chance to reassess its earlier decisionand partways with the BJP in order to reclaim its lost support and popularity in the valley. However in their haste, they once again ended up making the same mistake as their patron. In spite of this, PDP might have still been able to salvage their position if they had sincerely tried to work for the welfare of the people but their iron fist approach towards the protest rallies that shook Kashmir after the death of Burhan Wani,sealed all their doors of creatingtheir place in the public’s heart. The government imposed thelongest curfew in the history and used brute force to curb the protests. The way the government dealt with the people of Kashmir was a complete reversal from PDP’s Healing Touchpolicy and violated even the basic laws of humanity. It will be interesting to see how the government will rehabilitate those students who have lost eyesight-partially or completely and those who have been booked under PSA and what would be the PDP’s approach towardsrestoringnormalcy andsustaining it without addressing the core issue? Moreover, it will be very interesting to see how PDP revives itself in the valley?
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
ACT NOW |
MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |