When the Congress snorts in Delhi, Omar Abdullah gets a sneezing fit in Srinagar. The National Conference’s alliance partner—despite decisively winning the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council polls together last week—has snubbed the J&K chief minister’s suggestion to elevate the “grand alliance” to the state level. The assembly polls are due in Kashmir in 2014.
The NC working committee that met in the state’s winter capital Jammu, decided to propose the agreement formally to the Congress. The committee, endorsed Omar’s ‘desire’ to contest the next assembly with the Congress as its partner and roped in party chief Farooq Abdullah to help in Delhi. “We agreed with the CM’s proposal and authorised Farooq Abdullah to talk to the Congress high command,” said a senior NC leader after the 4-hour long meeting.
The Congress is, however, taking a guarded approach, much to dismay of Omar and his party. Calling contesting 2014 elections jointly Omar’s personal ‘aspiration and opinion’, State Congress President Saifuddin Soz said, “Contesting the next Assembly elections jointly is not in our domain of decision making. Such decisions are taken by the high command in the Congress.” He added that the suggestions on the same would also be sought from the party workers.
Meanwhile, Omar’s disenchanted uncle Kamal, Mustafa Kamal made matters worse by declaring that any coalition with the Congress was a compulsion, drawing ire from its partner in power. Describing Congress the country’s largest political party, senior leader Manohar Lal said that his party has options other than the NC. “There is no question of any compulsion to form the government with the NC. The Congress has other options available to remain in the power, keeping NC aside,” Lal told The Sunday Standard. “If NC thinks it is a compulsion to remain with the Congress, why is it (NC) is not going away and taking its own road. Kamal is a senior leader of his party and he should not issue irresponsible statements.”
In the meanwhile, NC leaders say that the Congress response will put Omar in a vulnerable position enabling the opposition to score brownie points, stating that his proposal highlights the fact that his party would be unable to form a government on its own in 2014. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party has already gone on the offensive. “Omar has brought NC to such a stage where they had to rely on Congress to fight us,” PDP spokesman Nayeem Akhtar said.
Omar’s problems do not end here. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s remark that the AFSPA, a law that provides impunity to forces operating in the region, cannot not be revoked till peace returned to Kashmir. This again, fetched sharp criticism from Mustafa Kamal. “Shinde seems to be unaware of the ground reality of the state. Central agencies which work here are not giving complete information to the centre and this is the reason why Shinde thinks peace has not returned to Kashmir,” he said.
Interestingly, sources say the NC working committee, Farooq had stressed on the need to strengthen the coalition government in the state. He said, “Leaders should avoid issuing unnecessary statements and should desist from criticising the coalition partner in public”.
Analysts say the recent posture on the 1975-Indira-Sheikh accord has further deepened the barely concealed rift between the the Congress and the NC in the state. The NC had recently issued a statement saying its founder and Omar’s grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was not a signatory to the accord. Sheikh Nazir, NC’s general secretary, replying to a question said: “Before levelling allegations against Sheikh, people should read history and check the facts. The 1975 accord doesn’t have the signature of Sheikh Sahib; neither was it tabled in the state legislature”.
Political leaders in Srinagar say that the NC is desperate to retain its dwindling vote bank in Kashmir.
With the assembly election still a year away, Omar’s grand alliance already seems to crumbling.