Riyaz Rashid
The election season has again set over Kashmir. Blowing the trumpet, a bunch of state actors of absurd political theatre are back to woo voters. But this time around, some non-state actors are working ambitiously to sweep polls in messed up militarised state where they are selling peace in lieu of developmental packages.
There are Muftis, who are still riding high on their ‘change’ campaign. Those days are gone when ‘healing touch’ was their instant magic balm for pestering wounds of conflict. Now the deal is: for each PDP vote in ballot, an imaginary ‘change’ will usher into the valley. I wonder how the father of change—I mean, the father of evolution, Charles Darwin would have reacted over this pragmatics of PDP who are readily serving ‘change’ on their political plate. Darwin would have surely left the field for Muftis—that too, hands down!
But anyway, the same PDP sold ‘change’ in parliamentary polls and swept win over three out of total six State Lok Sabha seats. That happened in May. And since then, five months have passed, but no promised ‘change’ has dawned over the lives of people of valley. The three PDP parliamentarians: Mehbooba Mufti, Tariq Karra and Muzaffar Beg can be seen tight-lipped in an otherwise raucous house. Now, that’s indeed a status quo, isn’t it?
And then there are vintage Abdullahs, and their ‘party of plough’—I mean, National Conference. After facing a ‘humiliating’ defeat in parliamentary polls, they are now vowing to fight elections with all their might. When their general secretary Ali Sagar recently said this, he sounded like a phoenix. But when one peeps into his party’s manifesto, one doesn’t sense that spoken strength—because, they are selling the same old wine in new bottles.
They are going for polls with same political promise: safeguarding Article 370 and establishing Autonomy. But should one remind them that ever since their supreme leader was incarcerated on August 9, 1953, they are tricking people on the same election gimmick.
His Highness, Omar Abdullah—on cusp of losing people, cried hoarse over controversial AFSPA, but his pleas often fell on deaf ears. And that suggests New Delhi’s regard for Omar government.
As per pitching Autonomy, don’t we know how Vajpayee government said big “NO” to his dad, Farooq Abdullah, during his last stint as state Chief Minister?
And that leaves Article 370—the only face-saving exercise for NC during upcoming election. But will NC’s rank and file ever muster spine to tell people that Article 370 is now hollow. So, why go gaga? Even, Modi who cried hoarse on this only constitutional link between Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi (during his ‘lalkar’ rally last December in Jammu) has apparently swept the issue under the rug.
So, instead of fighting with useless political ammo, NC needs to be creative before seeking votes to power, for one more time.
But instead of PDP and NC, it is BJP that looks an elephant in state political arena at the moment. In last elections, they won 11 seats; now their president is eyeing ‘44+’. Amit Shah, they say, is banking on migrant vote-bank. This erstwhile tainted home minister in CM Modi’s Gujarat has been lately hailed as ‘Modern day Chanakaya’ and master strategist.
But Shah should do his maths properly before even thinking to repeat UP in Kashmir. BJP being Hindutva party is unlikely to keep Kashmiris in good humour through its achhe din slogan. You see, it doesn’t matter how many Diwalis Modi would spend in valley, the fact of the matter is: Kashmir will always observe shutdown on his arrival.
And separatists are still pools apart as they stick to their old guard: poll boycott. But there are growing concerns, raised by some political commentators, that poll boycott will end up favouring BJP.
So, are we facing a creativity crisis on the separatist front too? At least, they would be last wishing BJP rule in state given its hard stand on Kashmir. So, before people fall in lines in mid-November, let’s hope, those who vote, would vote to beat the present day chill of governance.
(The author is pursuing his Bachelors and hails from Srinagar)
