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Ominous import of break-up

Kashmir Times. Dated: 6/21/2018 10:52:12 AM

Mischievous fall of the BJP-PDP alliance is aimed at pursuing hardline policy, communalisation in J&K for electoral benefits

The imposition of governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir after the sudden and dramatic breaking of the BJP-PDP alliance on Tuesday heralds the beginning of troubled times for the state ahead. The only entity that is likely to gain out of the tumultuous turns is the BJP which in most probability timed this sudden divorce for reaping its harvest in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. The sudden parting of ways by the BJP and the PDP, alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir, was a bolt from the blue and has certainly not happened without a larger motive that lies outside the state rather than inside. The snapping of the ties is as senseless as the very formation of the alliance almost more than three years ago. The PDP and BJP were odd political bedfellows with polarising ideological positions. Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, chief patron of the PDP, while entering into this alliance in 2014, had averred that this was the meeting of the North Pole and the South Pole; and was aimed at accommodating the strikingly different ideologies and aspirations. But like the natural law of science, the meeting of the North Pole and South Pole was an impossible task and both the alliance partners found no common ground to operate on despite the hammering of an Agenda of Alliance, which was finally forgotten about, at the time of making of the coalition government. The AOA unfortunately never became the guiding principle for the functioning of the government. In the last three and a half years since the formation of the government, both the parties have remained embroiled in an endless and futile war of dissenting views over several contentious and even non-controversial issues. From the contentious positions on Article 370 and Article 35A to things like GST and even development issues, the BJP and the PDP could not see eye to eye with each other. The alliance harmed the interests of the state and has pushed it into deeper chaos and distress. But its sudden fall does not end up reversing the damage done. Rather it will hasten the descent further into chaos.
Soon after the government fell, Governor's rule has been imposed in the state. This gives BJP government at the Centre direct control over Jammu and Kashmir with no regional party acting as even a delicate counter to the hardcore Hindutva narrative. Much will also depend on the next incumbent to Raj Bhavan as N.N. Vohra's term ends later this month, though he is likely to get an extension of few months. Vohra is known to be a seasoned man but the baton will ultimately be passed on to another hand, in most probability ideologically suited to the RSS politics. In most likelihood, the Centre is likely to push for a more hardline policy in Kashmir while the RSS and other Hindutva affiliates will leave no stone unturned in enhancing communal polarization in Jammu. The history of armed insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989 shows that state's security situation and the human rights track record of the security agencies operating here has worsened under successive governor's rule. With an RSS inspired BJP government in power at the Centre, the state may well be heading towards its darkest and most dangerous period. That the move to break the coalition government came from BJP and that is was timed after the BJP government made the announcement to terminate the month long unilateral ceasefire reveals that a pre-meditated design was behind it. The alliance itself was a sham but remained alive purely due to the only common interest of sharing the crumbs of power and pelf. So both the way it fell and the timing come under scrutiny. It is the BJP that pulled out of the alliance citing reasons of differences over ceasefire extension but the claim is bizarre. The BJP government at the Centre announced the termination of Ramzan ceasefire after Eid which the PDP resented. The latter had no decision making powers over the question of ceasefire. So the argument that the alliance fell over the question of ceasefire issue is untenable. The making of the alliance is an inalienable factor in the deterioration of the security situation of Kashmir and the increasing distance between the mainstream parties and people of Kashmir, as well as in heightening the communal polarization in the state. So, its fall at a time when the Centre took another complete U-turn after making some feeble moves to address the Kashmir dispute politically is a manifestation that the move is not inspired by noble intentions.
The breaking of the alliance is a ploy that the BJP wishes to use in run up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, for which BJP has nothing else to sell - as its development mantra and economic growth promises have miserably failed. Kashmir's distressing situation, communalization of Jammu region and demonization of the state's Muslim population are low hanging fruits for the BJP to cash in on during the elections that are likely to take place in a few months. It is a shocking state of affairs that a state as sensitive as Jammu and Kashmir would be treated as an object to suit cheap election gimmicks.