Apni Party of J&K takes a shot in the dark, says ready to align with BJP

Bukhari’s assertion is bold, especially as any alliance with the BJP — and publicly speaking about it — is seen as political suicide in the Valley. The outfit with which Bukhari began his political journey, the PDP, has already faced the consequences of such an alliance. The PDP allied with the BJP in 2015 to form a coalition government that lasted only three years. The PDP lost all the three parliamentary seats and even its president Mehbooba Mufti lost in her south Kashmir stronghold to a political novice Hasnain Masoodi after that. It has been a long battle since for the party to regain public trust.

The Apni Party has always been accused by its opponents of being a ‘B team’ of the BJP, and Bukhari has tried to distance himself from this, especially following the abrogation of Article 370, an unpopular move in the Valley, and has been targeting the party.

Against this backdrop, Bukhari’s openness to an alliance with the BJP has set the cat among the pigeons. The only explanation for the statement could be Bukhari seeking attention from the BJP and sending a message to them that he is ready to ally with it. This assumes significance given the launch of Democratic Azad Party (DAP) by former Congress stalwart Ghulam Nabi Azad. Both Azad’s DAP and the Apni Party are termed as BJP ‘projects’ by their opponents.

That Bukhari might be trying to ride two boats at the same time is also clear from his interview. He said he was thrown out of the PDP for asking its leadership to “apologise to the people” for the alliance with the BJP. “I told Mehboobaji that people have hatred towards the PDP (for the BJP alliance) and we should go back to the people and apologise to them,” Bukhari said.

Responding to Bukhari’s statement, the BJP’s media in-charge for Kashmir Manzoor Bhat said, “People have understood the political games now. We are sure that whenever elections take place, we will form the government on our own and there will be no need for a coalition partner.” He added, “But if a situation arises where we need a partner, we would have no objection to it (Apni Party). In the past, parties like the National Conference and the PDP have sought votes against the BJP and then joined hands with us. Somehow the people felt deceived. But I think Altaf Bukhari doesn’t want to deceive the people.”
The PDP didn’t comment on Bukhari’s statement.

This is not for the first time that a political leader has publicly asserted his openness for an alliance with the BJP in Kashmir. It was the People’s Conference’s Sajad Lone who first allied with the BJP before the 2014 Assembly elections. Possibly because it was the beginning of the Modi era, it didn’t cost Lone much and he managed to get two Assembly seats from his Kupwara stronghold.

When the 2014 elections threw a hung Assembly, the PDP joined hands with the BJP – even though the party had sought votes to keep the BJP at bay – to form a coalition government.

The alliance didn’t last long and the BJP parted ways in 2018, but it didn’t go well with the people in Kashmir, especially in south Kashmir, the stronghold of the PDP. The unrest of 2016 was partly seen as a fallout of this public anger.