Srinagar- When Ram Madhav, a veteran BJP leader, was re-appointed as the J&K pointman by the BJP around two weeks ago, it raised eye-brows in Kashmir. Now, his role is drawing attention from political parties who see him looking for alliances in the region, with the National Conference and the PDP engaging in a slanging match over who he is a little more closer to.
The NC leader Omar Abdullah has suggested that Madhav may have been sent to revive alliance with the PDP since he was the chief architect of the PDP-BJP coalition government in 2015.
“Ram Madhav was responsible for bringing the PDP and the BJP on one platform. He brokered the alliance. Perhaps he has been brought back for this purpose,” Omar said, referring to the statement of the former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik who said the same thing.
Earlier, in a video interview to a news portal, Malik said that Madhav was brought back to J&K because BJP might be preparing for a significant loss and thus seeking to collaborate with its former ally, the PDP.
“They are thinking of arriving at a compromise with Mehbooba Mufti after the elections and brought Ram Madhav to ascertain with Mehbooba as he was instrumental earlier as well,” Malik said. “Madhav can play a part in the formation of the government after elections.”
Omar latched on to Malik’s statement saying the latter had once close ties with the BJP, so knew better.
“Now, why and for what reason Ram Madhav came here, I can’t say that. Only BJP can answer that but there is no doubt about the fact that if Ram Madhav is close to any political party (in J&K) that is PDP,” he told reporters in Ganderbal.
Madhav is now the BJP’s co-poll incharge along with Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, for the Assembly elections. His advantage is that he knows leaders across the parties and will thus be able to keep the lines of communication open with them until after the elections are over and the government formation begins.
Incidentally, Madhav was also in Kashmir around the time Gandhi and Kharge were here. But not much was known about his activities in the summer capital of the UT. Kashmir observers contend that his appointment shows that like the Congress, the BJP is also looking for alliance partners in the UT, more so in the valley. Although the saffron party is supposed to have an understanding with the parties such as the Apni Party, Democratic Progressive Azad Party and the People’s Conference, none of them is publicly willing to acknowledge it for fear of losing support. All these parties not only failed to win a single seat in the recent parliamentary elections but also couldn’t enthuse Kashmiri voters. In terms of vote tallies they finished last in the seats they contested from.
But more than a pre-election alliance, Madhav could also be expected to look at a post-election scenario. Should the BJP win a majority of seats in Jammu division, where it retains significant following despite a rejuvenated Congress making inroads recently, Madhav could be hoped to explore options with the parties in the Valley. And it could include the party in the valley which secures the largest number of seats, or the parties with a smaller number of seats but which together make up a decent total.
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