Omkar Dattatray
It is strange and intriguing that the biggest political party of the world-BJP is conspicuously absent from the Lok Sabha elections in Kashmir. The national party of BJP should take part in the Kashmir elections and not remain absent from these crucial elections in Kashmir. The non-participation of the BJP in parliament elections in Kashmir gives wrong signals to the other political parties especially the mainstream regional parties of NC and PDP who take it as the weakness of BJP and its lack of a base in Kashmir. It would have been better for the BJP to field its candidates from valley even if they lose the elections and doing so would at least show the presence of BJP in Kashmir. But one is at a loss to understand as to why the top echelons of the BJP had decided to not take part in the polls in Kashmir giving the mainstream parties an opportunity to criticize BJP for not fielding its candidates for the three Lok Sabha constituencies of Kashmir. It seems that BJP high command has accepted defeat even before contesting and fielding its candidates in Kashmir. Not participating in the Lok Sabha elections in Kashmir has demoralized its supporters and workers in Kashmir and they take it as an insult to their dignity. It is very sad that BJP has shied out from the elections and it points to the fact that the party which makes much noise that it will win all the seats from Jammu and Kashmir is actually not in a position to fight these elections. The BJP has fielded its candidates in Udhampur and Jammu and is backing its allies People's Conference and Apni Party in Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri.
The BJP's election strategy has allowed NC and PDP to attack BJP. The BJP's recent election game plan in Jammu and Kashmir has placed both its allies, Peoples Conference and Apni Party in a restrained position. These parties are hesitating to publicly acknowledge their allegiance to the BJP due to its decision to not field any candidates from Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir valley.
This strategy has served as a shot in the arm of NC and PDP. Distinctly different from conventional politics, the NC and PDP, with neck to neck competition in all the three constituencies of Kashmir, are not targeting each other but directing their attacks towards the BJP. Tanveer Sadiq, NC's chief spokesperson told that BJP's actions in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the past six years, have made people angry and therefore, the rage is all being directed towards the BJP and its proxies. With the change witnessed in the political climate of Jammu and Kashmir following the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, the NC and PDP have realized that it would be futile and politically counter-productive to target each other.
Both parties are seeking to regain their relevance and existence in Kashmir politics and are banking on their own ground assessment. PDP President Mehbooba Mufti has disparaged the BJP in all her public addresses. However, she has consciously refrained from criticizing the NC. This strategy effectively portrays the BJP as the primary adversary. “The BJP has dismembered Jammu and Kashmir and disempowered its people. While doing so, they have been going around and lying about what they have done to the people here claiming that they are happy.
But the fact remains that they know the kind of sentiment that exists for them and for what they have done and by running away from elections,'' said PDP's chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari. ''They have acknowledged that they have been lying about it –situation after Article 370 all through.
They are trying to do some face saving through their proxies and that too has failed miserably,'' he claimed. This crafty strategy has confounded BJP's allies like Apni Party and Peoples Conference, forcing them into a quandary. They are now trying to defect blame onto NC and PDP and defend the BJP, fearing an election setback, while maintaining a balance between pleasing the people and maintaining good relations with the ruling party. On the contrary, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta defended the party's election strategy in Jammu and Kashmir as being in the larger national interest. 'We want a societal change in Kashmir.
We want people to completely get into the mainstream. For that, at times, you have to think beyond vote bank. Our party leadership is forward thinking ,''he said. However, they said the strategy of relying on proxies at the expense of direct participation has given their rivals ammunition to attack them and has possibly compromised the prospects of their allies in the region. The absence of BJP from valley Lok Sabha polls has damped the spirit of the local BJP workers and leaders and they stand demoralized.
In fact BJP has not done well to have decided not to participate in the polls and it suggests that BJP high command is aware that the party has no base in Kashmir and they as such cannot fight the elections. But the best course for the national party was to jump in the elections and prove its often repeated claim that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are with it. It seems that the decision not to field candidates has been taken because the BJP high command knows it well that their position is very weak in valley and thus according to the party. it was not feasible to fight the parliamentary elections in Kashmir.
Thus it can be said that the BJP's decision not to participate in the elections is not a wise decision at all and it has demoralized the rank and file of the party in Jammu and Kashmir. The best course for the BJP was to field candidates and to fight the elections even if they would be defeated and this participation in the elections would have been the good election strategy.
Therefore, BJP should not have run away from the elections and then say that it has been done in the national interest. One fails to understand as to which national interest will be served by the BJP's non-participation in elections in Kashmir.
(The author is a columnist,
social and KP activist)
