Arch-rivals Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC), which saw common ground post abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, have rekindled their rivalry with Assembly elections just round the corner.
Moreover, with party chiefs Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah sharpening their attacks against each other, fault lines between the parties – which came together under the banner of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) post August 2019 – seem to be further deepening. The renewed rivalry has also triggered a rare political phenomenon in the Valley – a scuffle between NC and PDP workers during nomination filing in Pulwama.
Omar trained guns on Mufti when asked why he jumped into the electoral fray after first saying he would not contest till Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood was restored. “Those people who attacked me have fielded their sons and daughters,” he said in an apparent reference to Mufti’s daughter Iltija getting the ticket from the Bijbehara seat.
The NC vice-president had defended his decision asking how he could ask people to vote for an Assembly while saying he does not believe in it. “Those asking for votes have fielded their relatives and would not have done so if they adhered to principles,” he added.
Party chief spokesperson Tanveer Sadiq claimed the PDP’s talk of a united front was never its “real intention”. “Despite the PDP not refraining from attacking us, we do not intend to speak against them. But the fact remains that in 2014, the PDP joined hands with the BJP. The events of 2019 would not have happened if the alliance did not take place,” he said.
Omar’s digs have triggered responses from the PDP chief, who has accused the NC of treating the erstwhile state as its “fiefdom” and flip-flopping on its stance. “The business of halaal and haraam has been started by them (the NC). In 1947, when the late Sheikh (Mohammad Abdullah) sahib was made chief administrative officer, the elections were halaal. When he became Prime Minister, the elections were halaal. But when he was removed from the Prime Minister’s post, the elections suddenly became haraam,” she said.
Calling for revocation of the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, Mufti said: “Who made elections haraam for the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1987? They closed the doors of elections for their political rivals.”
With the PDP still seen as hopeful of reaching an agreement with the NC, senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar claimed Mufti’s statements must not be construed as attacking the NC. “The problem is that the NC is intertwined with the history of Kashmir for almost a century now and any discussion on the problem will see its name being propped up. The NC’s fingerprints are writ large on the happenings of the Valley. We are not targeting them, but to avoid mentioning the NC, one will have to erase history,” he told The Indian Express.
United by a common cause – restoring statehood of J&K – and seeing the BJP and its “proxies” as their common foe, the two arch-rivals had jointly contested the 2020 District Development Council polls along with Sajad Lone’s Peoples conference, raising hopes of a united anti-BJP alliance in the Valley.
The last straw for the NC-PDP bonhomie came after differences emerged just before the Lok Sabha polls. While the NC demanded all the three seats in the Valley, the PDP was adamant on contesting the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. As a result, the PDP went solo while the NC forged an alliance with the Congress. However, both Mufti and Omar, who were among the contestants, lost.
Unlike now, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the two arch-rivals had maintained “civility and discipline” in their political discourse, with PDP candidates Waheed Parra and Mufti not attacking NC contenders Aga Ruhullah and Mian Altaf, and the NC candidates reciprocating in the same vein.
Click here to join The Indian Express on WhatsApp and get latest news and updates
