Azad's Dream Project

As chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad gave Jammu and Kashmir the Asia's largest Tulip Garden in Srinagar, in 2007. To him, it was his dream project. He created, developed and completed the project successfully. Afterwards, it was developed further. Since then Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden is  witnessing extraordinary rush of tourists during these weeks of the year. In fact the tourist arrival record is broken with every passing year. Besides the Tulip Garden, some other major development projects were also, either launched or completed during Azad's brief tenure as the chief minister. Several political circles believe that efforts were being made by his government to start a new era on the development front.

Azad had another dream project, though on political front - to launch his own regional party in Jammu and Kashmir. He founded the party, Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), in 2022. But much to his disappointment and to that of his supporters, the party could not achieve success after its take off. This was contrary to the success Azad had achieved  during his decades long association with Congress and during his  significant role in national and J&K politics. When he founded the DPAP  it was being hoped by some  political circles that Azad's party will be for politics like what the Tulip Garden is for the J&K tourism.

During its early days DPAP seemed a political threat to the existence of several political parties particularly Congress. But within short time the whole steam of the party exhausted. It could not register its presence; neither in parliamentary polls nor assembly elections. The mighty National Conference (NC) almost decimated all opposition in Kashmir even after the defeat of Omar Abdullah during parliamentary polls in Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency. The massive public support to NC made the opposition almost irrelevant in assembly polls. The new party of Azad was  hardly visible anywhere.

Now Azad has announced to suspend all units of his party including committees at various levels and re-constitute  those in due course of time. If he really is interested in strengthening his party,  then creating the political infrastructure for DPAP in presence of NC's strong  organisational network, and struggling opposition, is a big challenge for him. He has to make his party brick by brick  and for that he  and his supporters have to work hard on the ground. A number of senior leaders, who had earlier joined him, have since deserted him and returned to Congress and other parties. His efforts to rope in the youth could not achieve any success till now.

Azad is not happy the way his political opponents tagged him with BJP and projected his party as yet another team of the saffron party in Kashmir. From day one he tried to distance himself from major political parties at national and regional levels and wished to convey to the people that DPAP is a totally independent party. But still his political opponents accused him of  being close to BJP leadership and having launched his party to cause division among anti-BJP votes in Kashmir and several areas of Jammu. NC, PDP and other parties ran a campaign against him and his party. Azad's changing stances regrading his own participation in parliamentary polls did not create a good effect for his party. First, he announced he would not contest.

Then he said that he would, and finally he decided not to.  Some health related issues also slowed down his political activities, and in assembly polls there was hardly any presence of his party.

Since the last assembly polls were held in an entirely different atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir last year, there was hardly any chance for non-NC parties to succeed in a big way.  NC being the premier and oldest political party took a front role against the central government decisions regarding abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. The party  sought votes against these decisions and "pledged to stop BJP from forming the government in Jammu and Kashmir." Subsequently, NC succeeded in winning  the assembly polls and getting the majority with the support of a few independent MLAs. Congress, CPI (M) and Aam Adami Party are supporting the elected government from outside.

Even as NC government is right now facing tough time in the dual power system, at the same time its leadership is attempting that it should not lose any political space. Every effort at every level is being made in this direction. At present, the NC does not mind playing the role of a ruling party and  that of opposition party simultaneously to keep the real opposition parties at bay. Since the panchayat, municipal and block development council polls are expected this year, the ruling party would consistently try to have its grip on the political front as well.

On the other hand the opposition parties too are trying to revive themselves, increase their activities and criticise the government on various fronts. Already a campaign has been started by the opposition that the NC government is failing to deliver. The Kashmir based parties are blaming the NC government for "toeing the BJP line and not fulfilling it election promises."  The NC leadership is making clarifications from time to time and defending their policies and actions.
After the formation of the new government,  the BJP, PDP, People's Conference, and  Awami Ittihad Party are targeting the ruling party on various issues.

All these parties have their MLAs in legislative assembly. Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari's  Apni Party, which has no MLA, too has started its activities after the assembly polls. Azad's DPAP is yet to make its presence felt politically after the assembly polls. Suspending its units and forming new ones later can be the first step towards having some kind of political activities, and presence.
Author is senior editor, Greater Kashmir