In politics, they say time and noise matter the most. Though it’s too early to pass any verdict on the course Ghulam Nabi Azad’s new outfit “Democratic Azad Party” will take and its likely outcome as the party is hardly four-day-old. But what is clear is that he could have chosen a better time and backdrop of noise in which he announced the party and listed its objectives on September 26. This can make his new political journey and the road ahead for his party a challenging scenario in the short term as also in the long-run
His assertion that he would strive for the statehood to J&K and fight for the land rights and jobs for the natives under the banner of his newly floated outfit has not gone without question, is he the only one talking about these two critical factors that have assumed extra significance for the people of Jammu and Kashmir after their special status and statehood were taken away from them on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 and Article 35 A were done away with. The realistic answer is that he is just adding his voice to this chorus in the political landscape of the Union Territory of J&K and unenviable status to which it was reduced three years ago.
Baring the sole exception of People’s Democratic Party of Mehbooba Mufti stocking to its original stand of restoration of Article 370 and Article 35 A with all its powers and symbols, all other parties have modified their stand – National Conference which had started on a high note of doing nothing politically unless the special status is not given back to J&K, too, is struggling to find an echo for statehood among the people as the real-time outcome. It has sensed, to put it bluntly, that the people are fatigued and they are left with no appetite to launch yet another struggle in which they would have to make economic sacrifices as also endure long spells of disruptions in their lives.
National Conference, led by Abdullahs – Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah – has made the restoration of statehood as its anthem, and is also getting taunted by the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari, which had laid its foundation on March 8, 2020, with the restoration of statehood at the top of its manifesto, though it expected a favourable decision from the Supreme Court, where a bunch of petitions challenging abrogation of Article 370 are pending. “We were talking of realism then and continue to do now as well,” Altaf Bukhari continues to say it time and again.
In its heart of hearts, the BJP which is the only party that celebrated the abrogation of Article 370, as was natural and inevitable for two reasons – it had been pitching for the scrapping of this Article since its Jana Sangh days in 1950, and that it was under the party’s rule at the Centre that the constitutional changes were made, too is hoping that the statehood would get restored. Statehood has become a theme that touches the hearts and minds of the people as they feel that they have been inundated by outsiders. Their fear is rooted in their fear to the loss of their land, jobs and natural resources, as this is something that has already started happening in J&K, even in the Jammu region where BJP believes has its strong support base.
In these circumstances, Azad who spent almost 50 years in Congress and in national politics -barring two and a half-year tenure as Chief Minister of J&K has stated nothing new. The absence of newness in his party’s agenda has cast a shadow over the prospects of his narrative – it is part of the already going on narratives, not the narrative.
This remains about his political ideology and themes, but he could not choose right time to launch the party. It was delayed and by that time, many speculations had filled the air that he was waiting for signal to float the outfit. He, himself lent some currency to it when he said it time and again that the party’s name is not under the influence of any party or leader.
Now the road ahead , by all calculations , is very tough. He would have to compete for the space in the political territory of Jammu and Kashmir where what all he has listed as his agenda is already in the narration and that too quite loud.
As far his own leadership is concerned, he has put it to a new test.
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
