SRINAGAR: With the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP’s landslide victory in the Delhi polls, the PDP, which is in government formation talks with BJP, feels that politics in Delhi and J&K are different because “Kashmir is a complex issue”.
“The political situation and politics of Delhi is totally different from J&K. The politics in Delhi differs from politics in Kashmir,” PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar told Express when asked why the PDP could not wait, instead of holding government formation talks with the BJP against whom the party had contested the Assembly elections in the state.
“The Delhi politics cannot be emulated here. The PDP has different objectives and wants to achieve certain things in power. Our objective remains unchanged and we will form government in the state only after we realise that our objectives will be fulfilled,” Akhtar said.
The PDP and the BJP are engaged in government formation talks in the J&K since December 23, when election results were declared.
Governor’s rule was imposed in the State on January 8 after Omar Abdullah refused to continue as caretaker Chief Minister and no party could cobble up alliance to form a coalition government.
The PDP, which emerged the single largest party in the 87-member J&K Assembly with 28 seats, has been seeking commitment from the BJP leadership on lifting of the AFSPA from the state and resumption of talks with Pakistan and separtist leaders in the Valley before forming a coalition government with the BJP in the state. Political analyst and former head of political science in the University of Kashmir, Noor Ahmad Baba said the defeat in the Delhi polls was a major setback for the BJP and a “silver-lining” for the PDP.
“After the defeat of BJP in Delhi, the PDP can be more assertive now in deciding on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with the BJP. The party can now toughen its stand on negotiations on contentious issues with the BJP, whose winning juggernaut was halted by AAP,” he said.
Baba said the saffron party had delayed the formal talks with the PDP to focus on the Delhi polls. “It did not want to give its rival parties any chance of propagating that the party has compromised on its stand in J&K”.
He said after its defeat in Delhi, the BJP in J&K would now be on a back-foot and could not continue to be demanding and assertive.
When asked whether the PDP could follow the same route as was taken by Kejriwal, Baba said, “The PDP has gone too far in talks on government formation with the BJP and it is not possible for them to move back.”