Mainstream in Mufti

Could political intrigue be a measure of the deepening of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir? There has been these past days much reason to suspect that the People8217;s Democratic Party8217;s demand for troop reduction is only partially based on principle. It is felt that former J038;K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed is in fact raising the issue to reset the centre of gravity in his coalition with the Congress in the state and to re-mark his turf in local politics. The repercussions for the power balance in the coalition will be watched in days to come. But there is a more significant outcome of this public debate between the PDP and the Congress 8212; which even drew Sayeed into a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It shows the value of a credibly democratic government for the people to internalise the balance between populist desire and pragmatic strategy.

Glance away from the political tussle between Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad 8212; who succeeded him as CM as part of the power-sharing arrangement between the Congress and the PDP 8212; and an expanded middle ground is visible. That expansion has drawn, of course, from the readiness of the top executive in the state and at the Centre to engage seriously and substantially with what some could consider rather extreme opinion. It has, however, also gained from the responsibility this engagement has imposed on critics of current troop deployment in Jammu and Kashmir.

This episode should make J038;K8217;s freefloating political actors reconsider their reluctance to enter the electoral arena. Leaders of the Hurriyat, for example, may gain the benefits of flexibility by not having their political appeal quantified or their positions established by a manifesto. But since elected representatives 8212; taken to the assembly through free and fair elections 8212; gather on their agendas a wider spectrum of political opinion, these freefloaters may find themselves getting squeezed out of an expanding middle ground.