Finally, the coalition government in the state died a premature but expected death. The death was expected because the government in the first instance was a means not for good governance of the state but to fulfill the other ends of the parties concerned. The Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP) in particular had other plans, and purposes, in mind out of the coalition with the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). They had to exploit the coalition to gain political points against their rivals at the national level political landscape of the country. As long as the points kept coming the coalition remains intact and once the points ceased to come, or when bigger ends were forecasted, the coalition was broken and the coalition partner dumped.
Moreover, most of the political pandits had expected, and forecasted, the withdrawal from the coalition by the PDP and not the BJP. The withdrawal of the support by the BJP surprised many political analysts and experts. The PDP was least expecting this and was not at all ready for this. They were caught unawares when the BJP was planning this unexpected and big political move. There was a shock all throughout the organizational structure of the party.
The sudden pull out of the BJP from the alliance left the PDP stranded in a whirlpool of uncertainties. They were ditched so badly that they even got no time for face saving. This seemed a one sided affairs where the BJP was batting on a flat batting track and the PDP was bowling on the no balls that too when the contest had already been fixed in favor of the national party.
So, if there is a loser in this entire affair, it is the PDP. This party could have at least got a consolation point by pulling out of the coalition but that too was snatched from this party by the unexpected pullout of the BJP. The already dented image of the PDP got further beating at the hands of the partner which the party had chosen itself. The partner put a big question mark on the future political prospects of the PDP.
The Agenda of Alliance(AoA), the ideology of the PDP and all the claims and achievements of this party were thrown to dust by this single move by the BJP. The AoA was never pursued with least degree of sincerity, the ideology of the PDP was dumped with the formation of the coalition and the claims that PDP made were hollow and turned empty after these years in governments and the achievements, if any, were handed over to the BJP. The latter party is readying itself to reap the benefits of forming coalition and breaking away from the coalition in the 2019 elections. The PDP is in the conundrum to justify its position in the aftermath of the breakup.
The people belonging to the PDP who were so vocal just before the breakup, it seems, have evaporated in the thin air. They are untraceable and unable to be reached through their favorite twitter handles and Facebook pages/accounts. Some have even started disassociating with the party and the party membership. All these people are showing their kneejerk response in absence of any answers and justifications that they can provide for their making and breaking of the coalition.
The PDP has lost its basic position as a voice of the people of Kashmir. It has failed to act as a peace building party agency; it rather is identified with the violence pure and simple that is rampant in Kashmir. The soft separatism which was associated with the party proved a trick to deceive the voters and supporters of the party. The PDP in short forgot the constituents which had given this party the power. It sanctioned the use of brute force against the same people who had sacrificed dearly for the party. Every promise and word of the PDP was violated by the people of the same very party.
This party now faces an ever existential crisis, the worst ever witnessedin the political history of the state. The balloon of the pomp and show of the PDP has been leaked; it has lost its main constituency. The same South Kashmir which played a crucial role in creating the PDP is turning out to be the area where the people of this party are prohibited, they are not allowed. They are insulted and threatened and even ostracized in this area. The PDP is really at the threshold of disintegrating if course correction is not made. With the sincere course correction and repentance, it will take too long for the party to reach to the position where it was before 2014.
Hence, the PDP has two options now, either to make a sincere course correction and become the real voice of the people of Kashmir and revert back to soft separatism. The other option is to keep doing what they have been doing all these years. At least this way of doing will bring the extinction of the party much earlier than expected. By doing this the some people who still have few hope from the PDP will get relieved from those hopes and will start finding solutions to their problems on their own.
The State of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the Kashmir division is in a terribly painful situation. The people of Kashmir division are suffering by every means. They need someone to heal their wounds, they need someone to hold their hands and they need someone to care for them. The party which they had chosen in the shape of the PDP has betrayed them and it is hard for them to trust any other party. The absence of a credible face and trustworthy party is making their condition even more pathetic.
For the PDP there is still a glimmer of hope if they make sincere course corrections. The people who are responsible to throw the party to this ditch of credibility crisis shown be show the exit door and those who are concerned with the plight of the people of Kashmir given the main role. There are many who really wish the good of the people of Kashmir but they have been kept on the back benches of irrelevance. Hope someone from the party take not of the things that need to be done to keep the party relevant; otherwise time is not far when this party will become a painful history of the people of Kashmir.
The author can be mailed at arshad9708@gmail.com
