PDP-BJP combine can promote a new narrative
It may not be geographically possible for the North Pole and the South Pole to come together, but in politics opposite ends can meet given the right intent and trust. On Sunday, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, positioned at two ends of the political spectrum and separated by contrasting ideology and deep-seated political thinking, joined hands to form a coalition Government in Jammu & Kashmir. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed called it the coming together of the North Pole and the South Pole. But the alliance is less of a compromise on old ‘ideology' and more about giving a new ‘idea' a chance. The unique alignment has stunned political pundits and triggered a wave of doomsayers.
This invests an added responsibility on the two new allies to make the coalition Government not just last but deliver for the benefit of the people of the State. The best way to silence critics is performance. The PDP and the BJP have a golden opportunity to provide a new developmental and historical narrative to Jammu & Kashmir. Although the new Government's ‘agenda for governance' will be the guidebook for both parties and their representatives in the Mufti's regime, it is possible that now and then issues will crop up that threaten to vitiate the environment. Both the parties must take care not to allow loudmouths to have their way and hijack headlines. Mr Sayeed is a vastly experienced politician and administrator, and having served as a Union Cabinet Minister in a Government 25 years ago that was backed by both the left and the Right, he understands the pulls and pressures of friends and allies. As an experiment, this coalition cannot afford to fail because, if it does, it will create a further schism between Jammu and Kashmir regions even before the task of bridging the already existing trust deficit between the two peoples is completed. Besides, the failure will offer a stick to the critics to beat the new Government with.
There is a lot that Mr Sayeed's Government should get cracking on. To begin with, it must scale up efforts to provide relief to the thousands of people affected by the devastating floods that hit the State in 2014. It is no secret that the then State regime of Mr Omar Abdullah had monumentally failed to do its bit on the ground.That failure was one important reason for the defeat the National Conference suffered. There are various infrastructure projects, such as the construction of roads to connect key locations in the State with one another, and the enhancement of power supply, which must be initiated. Many of these schemes require the full-fledged backing of the Centre. It goes without saying that the Union Government will go out of its ways to help. The revival of tourism and the need to augment the supply of water for both public consumption and hydro-power plants are two other areas that demand urgent attention.
But the push for development can run into obstacles if social harmony is disrupted and anti-India elements are allowed to derail the agenda. The new Government must come down hard on the trouble-makers. And, both Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Prime Minister Narendra Modi must speak in one voice when it comes to foreign policy, especially when it involves Pakistan.