Next man in

The People’s Democratic Party is not the only one to feel jolted. Sonia Gandhi’s decision on Thursday evening to enforce the letter of the powersharing pact forged with Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s party after the crucial 2002 elections in J&K, has gone against the trend of political soothsaying right uptil Thursday evening. The PDP will not be the only one to be disappointed by the decision. It has been increasingly evident to observers that the state, and indeed the nation, would benefit from the continuation of the Mufti government in Srinagar. The choice before the Congress chief, on Thursday, could be framed thus: local political calculus versus the larger, longer view. Having showed rare magnanimity by allowing the smaller partner to lead the government, Sonia Gandhi was being given a second jab at something that would only be called statesmanship.

It will be a relief, nevertheless, to have the chief minister of J&K return to J&K. For days too many, the chief minister, and ministers and MLAs from the state have been sighted camping in New Delhi, when they should have been in Srinagar, monitoring relief efforts in vast swathes of quake-affected areas that continue to lack adequate succour. It must be hoped that Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will quickly put the prolonged politicking of the past few weeks behind him and get down to the business of saving lives in his state. Other mammoth challenges await J&K’s new chief minister. His will be the task to ensure that the increasingly sure-footed peace process between India and Pakistan receives sagacious support from the government in Srinagar. He must build upon the acknowledged successes of Mufti’s government — the palpable defusing of the security environment, the slow but steady return of public trust in the legitimacy of the electoral-political process and institutions of the state, the hopeful stirrings in the economy due to a resuscitation of tourism and investment.

The Congress under Ghulam Nabi Azad’s leadership will be required to perform in government while keeping a watchful eye on its coalition with the PDP. The challenge of governance is so great in Kashmir that the ruling coalition cannot afford to let any inner faultlines show. On November 2, the Congress will pin the spotlight to itself again. It can either secure the peace in Kashmir and, in the process, erase its own deeply blemished record in the state. Or… Actually, there is no other option.