CM Omar, MP Mehdi Perfect The Political Game Of National Conference

It takes the political acumen of the National Conference (NC) to close the spaces for opposition voices by occupying all slots in the siyasi roulette of Kashmir.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is all smiles and warmth with the nation’s political leadership and strikes all the right notes. Party MP Ruhullah Mehdi takes the contrary space and is suitably aggressive, asking Omar to be ‘chief rebel’ and calling tourism a cultural invasion.

Both attitudes have made headlines within Kashmir and in national newspapers. From the NC perspective, this strategy serves two major purposes. One, with the ‘Good Cop Bad Cop’ acts, CM Omar and MP Mehdi have given representation to all shades of Kashmir society. Second, NC seems determined to close all latitude for PDP. Whatever the voters want to relish, between CM Omar and MP Mehdi, the National Conference is serving it.

There is a reason for these political machinations. Since the times of Sheikh Abdullah, Kashmir has a sizable constituency which is thrilled by the rabble-rousing against New Delhi. This constituency favours a combative and fierce attitude towards the Centre.

Hence Omar and Mehdi are working assignment-wise. It is a smart division of labour – the kind of approach which ensures that NC can have its cake and eat it too.

Omar, the face of the J&K government, is sunny and cheerful with the Prime Minister and the country’s top political leadership. This will ensure that the Centre will dole out more and more rewdis to Jammu Kashmir. A large section of Kashmiris wants cordial relations with the Centre, and they are kept happy with this arrangement.

The reverse is equally true. From the time of Sheikh Abdullah, Kashmiri politicians have known that a hawkish attitude against New Delhi has brought them rich dividends back on home ground.

In his masterful treatise ‘The Valley of Kashmir’ published in 1895, Sir Walter Lawrence had noted that Kashmiris are highly emotional. The same holds true nearly 130 years later. Kashmiris are easily manipulated by political manoeuvring.

When Sheikh Abdullah was aggressive in his stance against the Centre, he was showered with higher public support. Down the decades, the same has been true for other politicians who have exhibited anger against New Delhi. They have been the favourites on home ground.

The supposedly belligerent posturing of MP Ruhullah Mehdi is division of labour with the National Conference. The party’s strategists have worked out a masterplan which is playing out well as per script. CM Abdullah supposedly represents the pro-Centre group, and MP Mehdi supposedly represents the anti-Centre group.

There has been some discussion on social media that perhaps MP Mehdi wants to form his own political party. Some people thought that in MP Mehdi, ek naya strong and independent leader tayaar ho gaya. But this isn’t the party’s intention. MP Mehdi knows that if NC is deducted from his siyasi equation, he shall have very limited political capital. Equally, NC needs MP Mehdi to win the Budgam seat because of his strong influence in the area. Elections to the Budgam Assembly constituency are due, and all seems to be cosy in the NC camp again.

In January, the public display of anger against MP Mehdi by NC’s youth wing president and Hazratbal MLA Salman Sagar and Cabinet Minister Sakina Itoo had made headlines in Jammu Kashmir.

As NC gears up for Budgam Assembly elections, all these grievances have been forgotten. MP Mehdi continues to be the trusted NC leader, firmly ensconced within the party. With NC out to represent all shades of political opinion in Kashmir, it is PDP which may further find itself left out in the cold.