Partner, talk peace

The truth is that it is in the interest of the Congress, of Kashmir and in the national interest, that the Congress-PDP alliance continues and is effective. It is not as if it is losing ground. The two parties won four out of six seats in the recent elections. They might have won five had the Congress decided not to field a candidate in Baramulla.

When Sonia Gandhi decided to allow the Mufti to become chief minister despite the Congress being the bigger partner, she showed political wisdom. It sent out a clear message that for her national interest was supreme and that she was willing to work with other parties. This helped to build her stature as a key national player. Breaking the alliance would detract from it. It will give a handle to people like Mulayam Singh Yadav to attack the Congress on the grounds that it does not allow duly elected state governments to run when it is in power.

There will be hiccups in a political relationship. The question of the chief ministership going to the Congress in the second half of the term is still a year away. It is the Congress perception that the Mufti had come close to the NDA and he used that proximity to sideline the Congress in the state. The Mufti must realise that his commitment to the alliance must be visibly clearer.

On its part, the Congress has to understand that it is the compulsion of any government in Srinagar today to establish a working relationship with New Delhi. The Mufti had established a rapport with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But let’s face it. Barring the Left and Lalo’s RJD, there are no major parties in the UPA today which did not have an overt or covert relationship with the BJP.

Though the Congress got only 145 seats in the LS polls, the mandate was seen to be for it and against the BJP. Similarly, though the PDP got only 16 seats in the assembly elections, the mandate was seen to be for it in the Valley, not for the NC, though it got 28 seats. In the state, the verdict was in favour of a Congress-PDP government. The Congress tying up with the NC today, if it is considering it, would be tantamount to a major group in the UPA joining hands with the BJP at the national level. Hurriyat and others would get an opportunity to attack the Centre for imposing governments in Srinagar.

Whether the Congress likes it or not, it was the Mufti who came to occupy the space that once belonged to the Hurriyat. If the present coalition fails, that space may go back to the Hurriyat. Today the opposition space is occupied by the NC. It was when the opposition space got vacated, after the Congress-NC tie-up in the mid-80s, that militancy gained momentum. The only force in the Valley synthesising national interest with Kashmiri aspirations today is the PDP. A strong PDP will exert pressure on the NC to find a similar balance.

The Congress is worried about losing ground among the Hindus in Jammu but the way to retain its hold is not to play the Hindu card. That card only ever helps the BJP. A strained relationship between the Congress and the PDP will create a climate of uncertainty once again in the state where things are reverting to even keel, with less volatility on the ground. It would affect the Centre’s talks with the Hurriyat and the peace process with Pakistan. It would be a pity if the Congress were to rock the boat for small gains. Though the Centre has not done anything confrontationist so far, Sonia and the Mufti must ensure that the relationship is not destabilised.