Srinagar, Sep 3: The bonhomie between the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir has imploded, marking the end of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).
The two regional forces, once united in their quest for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, are now at loggerheads and targeting each other with full force.
Two parties' leaders Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti had been targeting each other every day during their poll campaign.
The collapse of the NC-PDP bonhomie has left the PAGD in tatters. The alliance, formed soon after the abrogation of Article 370, had promised a new era of politics in Jammu and Kashmir. However, internal fissures and a lack of sincerity have led to its downfall.
In 2020 district development council (DDC) polls, the six parties alliance of PAGD fought the elections together. And this alliance won 110 seats.
The bonhomie between the erstwhile arch rivals ended during the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, when the two parties contested against each other. The NC and PDP's failure to accommodate each other in the Lok Sabha polls marked the beginning of the end for the PAGD. The NC's refusal to spare seats for the PDP in the assembly polls has further widened the rift.
While the NC and Congress have formed a coalition for the assembly polls being held after a gap of ten years, the PDP has been left out in the cold.
The CPI(M) has been accommodated in the NC-Congress combine, but the PDP and the Awami National Conference headed by Farooq Abdullah's nephew Muzaffar Shah have been excluded from the seat-sharing equation.
Noted political commentator Prof Noor Baba believes that the political parties are guided by interests and not morals.
” In 2019 (when Article 370 was abrogated), they (NC and PDP) were facing a different situation that was largely external. So they joined together and it was in the common interest of both. Today when elections are round the corner, each party's interest is to undo another and so that they gain more acceptance,” Baba said.
He opined that there is always a possibility that the two parties can again come together in future.
“Politics is always an art of possibility. Tomorrow if the alliance (NC-Congress) falls short of the majority, they can again reunite,” Baba said.
