PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu & Kashmir on the brink of collapse

New Delhi: The alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is on the brink of collapse after the latter put out a list of prerequisites for reviving the relationship.

Greater clarity will emerge over the next two days as the two parties articulate their respective strategies. The two had come together to stitch a historic alliance after the state elections threw up a hung assembly. However, following the demise of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the alliance came under threat as some PDP members sought a reworking of the terms.

According to senior leaders of the PDP, party chief Mehbooba Mufti wants assurances from the top leadership of BJP on three specific issues, including phasing out of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), time bound implementation of agenda of alliance and also for BJP state unit leaders to refrain from commenting on controversial issues like beef ban and Article 370.

“Mehbooba Mufti wants assurances from the top BJP leadership. The two parties are ideologically very different, so PDP wants timebound implementation of agenda of alliance. The assurances must come from the very top,” said a senior leader of the PDP. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir governor N.N. Vohra stepped in to end the stalemate in the government formation process in the state. Vohra has invited PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and state BJP chief Sat Pal Sharma for talks on Tuesday. The governor wants the two parties to clarify their stand on government formation and the status of their alliance.

“Yes, the governor has called Mehbooba Mufti for a meeting tomorrow,” said PDP spokesman Naeem Akhtar. Senior leaders of the PDP said that the office of the governor had sent a fax message on Sunday evening to both the parties for talks.

Vohra will first hold a meeting with Mehbooba Mufti which will be followed by a meeting between the governor and the BJP state leadership. “We are going to meet the governor tomorrow evening,” Sharma said.

While the BJP’s state leadership met on Monday to decide on the future course of action, Mehbooba Mufti too called PDP’s Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and party office-bearers to take a call. This will be the third meeting of PDP MLAs since Sayeed passed away on 7 January. “The union must take substantive measures towards implementation of the PDP-BJP ‘agenda of alliance’ in the interest of peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir. PDP needs a set timeframe to be worked out,” Mehbooba Mufti said on Sunday, after meeting her party MLAs.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders argue that the two sides had formed an alliance on the basis of the agenda of alliance, which was reached after consultation between senior leaders of BJP and Sayeed. “The real question is if Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was wrong in forming an alliance with the BJP? Was Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s last major political decision wrong? The PDP will have to answer these questions. The two parties came together for development of Jammu and Kashmir and there should be no roadblock in the development process,” said a senior BJP leader, involved in the discussions. BJP leaders are of the view that they have not been approached for any assurances from Mehbooba Mufti or any of the senior leaders of the party. Senior leaders of BJP argue that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had together formed the agenda of alliance and hence there was no reason to revise the Common Minimum Programme.

“There will be no further assurances given to PDP. The state government is committed to work for the development of all three regions of the state, which include Jammu, Kashmir and Leh. One party alone cannot dictate terms. We are in touch with the senior leaders of PDP and the regional party has to decide,” said a senior BJP leader.

Political analysts say Mehbooba Mufti is worried that the alliance with BJP is unpopular and would politically hurt the PDP. “Mehbooba Mufti is concerned about the voters of her party who are basically in Kashmir. She has never been an administrator, she is a party person and must be getting feedback from the ground about the alliance with BJP. The two parties should take a call on government formation and there should be no further delay. The two parties have been together for just 10 months, so there has been very little on the development front,” said Ellora Puri, a Jammu-based political analyst and political science professor at the Jammu University.

PTI contributed to this story.