Congress’s Conundrum: With the Govt but not in the Govt

Srinagar, Oct 17: Having been a king-maker party for decades, Congress is currently in a dilemma regarding its real role in the newly elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Practically it is with the government but not in the government at present. None of its ministers took oath yesterday when the chief minister and other ministers were sworn in. Congress has preferred not to fill the one vacant berth, allotted by NC to it, in the council of ministers yet. The party has announced that it will become part of the cabinet only after statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir. But nobody is sure when actually the statehood will be restored and that way entry of Congress into the council of ministers is also uncertain.

Omar Abdullah has already said that the onus to join the ministry lies on the Congress. NC President Farooq Abdullah too has hoped that the party will avail its one allotted berth in the cabinet.

Congress's decision not to be part of the cabinet right now has not affected the NC. The premier political party went ahead with its government formation programme. It may not affect the ruling party even in the future.

However, NC would always like Congress's support as it gives stability to its government even as the ruling party has the majority with the support of independent MLAs.  But Congress legislators are more reliable for NC for the possible tricky situations in future also.

Reports say that during the government formation process, the local Congress had demanded two berths in the cabinet but NC agreed to one. Then there were no further discussions. Congress's high command also showed a lack of interest in pressing for more berths as the demand would have seemed unjustified. This is so because Congress has only six MLAs and J&K union territory, can have only nine ministers including the chief minister. Secondly, during the assembly elections in J&K and Haryana, the BJP targeted the Congress for forming an alliance in J&K with NC, which has been demanding the restoration of greater autonomy and Article 370 and 35- A besides the release of Kashmiri prisoners. Some Congress circles say their party suffered damage in the Hindu belt of Jammu besides Haryana because of this. Since assembly elections are being held in Maharashtra and Jharkhand now, Congress does not want to get tagged again with NC's agenda at the national level. So, its leaders intend not to become part of the NC government for the time being. The NC government is also under pressure from the opposition parties in Kashmir to pass a resolution in the cabinet and assembly opposing the August 5, 2019 decisions. Such a scene will not be favourable for Congress.

Forming a pre-poll alliance with NC is not the only reason for Congress not getting seats in the Hindu belt in Jammu. The local Congress leaders and cadres did not campaign as effectively as they should have. Reports said hardly any door-to-door campaign was conducted and BJP took full advantage and swept the polls. Congress's long history of infighting also caused the damage. Some of its leaders, who wanted to work hard, were discouraged from doing so by others through various tactics. Subsequently, the results came as an embarrassment for the Congress.

BJP has both - advantages and disadvantages - if Congress is not part of the J&K government. Advantage because the saffron party can get some kind of solace from the "Congress Mukt" J&K government. BJP leadership is upset that despite their years-long preparations and hard work their party could not get the majority and form the government. So Congress being out of the government can be a relief. The disadvantage is that if the Congress is not part of the government with NC, then the BJP cannot do its bashing the way it did in polls in Jammu and Haryana.

Congress not being part of its government can be a blessing in disguise for the NC as some avoidable friction with the central government can be avoided. Some NC leaders said that the pre-poll alliance with Congress was formed also to counter the campaign launched by rival parties that their party would form a coalition government with BJP after assembly polls. During the talks on seat-sharing arrangements, Congress stood its ground and managed to get a good number of seats from NC.

"Ministries are not important for us. What is important is that we both - NC and Congress - through our pre-poll alliance were able to keep BJP out of political power in Jammu and Kashmir. That is our biggest achievement. Our real struggle is now the restoration of statehood," said JKPCC chief Tariq Hamid Karra.

But it is also a fact that in the past Congress used to get a lion's share of important portfolios in a coalition government in J&K. But this time the party does not have that bargaining power. Congress also does not want its political interests to get marred at the national level by being accused by the BJP of being in government with a party, which advocates autonomy and Article 370 restoration in Jammu and Kashmir.