Whose CM is he anyway?

How much can a leader be alienated from his party? This is the question National Conference members are asking of their president and Jam...

How much can a leader be alienated from his party? This is the question National Conference members are asking of their president and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah. He has time for neither them nor regional issues, they complain, and their political rivals are busy cashing in.

An ample demonstration of this 8220;neglect8221; is the fact that the NC8217;s headquarters at Srinagar does not even have the full list of its functionaries killed by militants in the past 10 years, though it tops the ultras8217; hit-list. One has to go the police for the numbers, and they reveal that as many as 87 block presidents, block secretaries and other functionaries of the party have been killed since October 1996 alone. The party records, on the other hand, list just 48, that too killed in the entire 10 years of turmoil in the state.

Several party members and leaders are also bitter about the handshake with the BJP at the Centre as they believe this has changed the basic political outlook of the party, which remainsregional. Also, as they note, the BJP and NC are ideologically poles apart.

However, their views apparently don8217;t count for much. 8220;Most of the policy matters are being imposed from the top,8221; says a senior leader and legislator. 8220;The tradition of discussing sensitive matters in working committee meetings so as to arrive at a decision has also gone. Now the working committee meeting is called more to enjoy wazwan rather to discuss issues.8221;

He points out that even the decision to support the BJP-led coalition at the Centre was taken by Farooq without consulting the working committee. 8220;The working committee meeting was convened only after Member of Parliament Professor Saif-ud-Din Soz openly protested against the decision. And still, the decision was contrary to the feeling of a majority of the party leaders and grass-root workers.8221;

In a more scathing comment on Farooq, the MLA says: 8220;Even the legendary Sher-e-Kashmir, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, would discuss each and every policy matter in theworking committee and would even face questions from leaders like Afzal Baig and Mohideen Shah, a Cabinet minister even today.8221;But then Farooq8217;s father had the state in his grip 8212; epitomising its fight for identity within the Indian union 8212; besides being Jammu and Kashmir8217;s link with the rest of the country. Again, say NC members, unlike his son.For, the partymen also accuse Farooq and the top leadership of destroying the NC8217;s regional character and pro-autonomy outlook. 8220;The NC had a distinction of being pro-India but simultaneously a staunch advocate of the state8217;s special status within the Union,8221; says a senior district-level leader. 8220;This was also the main issue in the party manifesto for the last Assembly elections8230;Now the raison d8217;etre of the party has been willingly passed on to its adversaries. It is funny to see a national level party like the Congress rather than the NC talking on regional issues in Kashmir.8221;At the same time, the party, which has deep links with Kashmiris, continues toremain the militants8217; pet hate. They have kept on their campaign against its cadre and the grass-root activists, who face the brunt of their ire, see little help coming from the top.

A party functionary from south Kashmir, Abdul Rasheed, says there is a vertical split in the party, with those in power and the ordinary political workers being on opposite sides. 8220;Nobody wants to take the party8217;s responsibility as all are in the race for positions in government,8221; he lashes out.

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The main reason for this alienation between the party ranks and its file is that Farooq is virtually inaccessible to his men. A party functionary from Ganderbal tells The Indian Express: 8220;I personally tried to meet Farooq sahib but was not allowed to even enter the main gate of his residence. He is also our MLA. Where will we go and whom will we contact to address the problems of partymen?8221;

However, increasingly, that figure is becoming clear: Sheikh Nazir Ahmad, Farooq8217;s 65-year-old cousin and the NC8217;s general secretary. Ablock president from north Kashmir says Ahmad is 8220;synonymous8221; with the NC, being 8220;the only link between those running the government and us8221;.

He also fears that once Ahmad goes, this tenuous link will collapse. Being a relative of Farooq and having been groomed by no less than Sheikh Abdullah himself, Ahmad can dare speak out at party meetings. 8220;But if he decides to retire tomorrow,8221; fears the block president, 8220;there will be a vacuum. There is no choice available for his replacement.8221;

Desperate party workers have started coming to Ahmad for help and there are long queues outside his residence. And relative or not, the NC general secretary too doesn8217;t seem happy with the scheme of things. He points to a girl in his office who, he says, is the daughter of a committed activist and block president who was killed by militants a year ago. 8220;She wants to get a government job as the family has now no source of income,8221; he says. 8220;But I am myself not able to help her.8221;