Unpacking How BJP’s Withdrawal From Kashmir Valley Election Shaped NC and PDP’s Fortunes

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.

he BJP’s election game plan in Jammu and Kashmir has placed both its allies, People’s Conference and Apni Party, in a restrained position. These parties are hesitating to publicly acknowledge their allegiance to the BJP due to the saffron party’s decision to not field any candidates from three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley.

The BJP has fielded its candidates in Udhampur and Jammu and is backing its allies in Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri. This strategy has served as an advantage for the National Conference (NC) and the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Distinctly different from conventional politics, the NC and the PDP, with a neck-and-neck competition in all three constituencies of Kashmir, are not targeting each other but directing their attacks towards the BJP.

Tanveer Sadiq, NC’s chief spokesperson, told India Today that BJP’s actions in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the past six years, have made the people angry and therefore, the rage is all being directed towards the saffron party and its proxies.

With the change witnessed in the political climate of Jammu and Kashmir following the scrapping of Article 370, the NC and the PDP have realised 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 criticising 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 and 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 the 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 the Apni Party and the People’s Conference, forcing them into a quandary. They are now trying to deflect blame onto the 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 gel into the mainstream. For that, at times, you have to think beyond the vote bank. Our party leadership is forward-thinking,” he said.

However, sources within the BJP told India Today that the party has blundered in the election game in the Kashmir Valley. 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.

Jammu and Kashmir has five Lok Sabha constituencies – Udhampur, Jammu, Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla.

While elections in Udhampur and Jammu were held on April 19 and 26, polling in Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla, will be held on May 7, 13, and 20, respectively. Results are expected to be declared on June 4. Source