All eyes on core BJP meet: Will PDP alliance in J&K signal fresh start with Hurriyat?

Srinagar: When the BJP led government at the Centre cancelled foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan after Hurriyat leaders met Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, it marked a new low in the relations between the two countries that were already strained by frequent escalation in ceasefire violations along the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Critics at that time pointed out that it was a knee-jerk reaction to what has by now, become an accepted process (Hurriyat meeting with Pakistani diplomats ahead of any summit between India and Pakistan) that has been going on for decades.

Contrast that then, to the BJP reaction to a meeting between Abdul Ghani Bhat, one of the senior-most leaders of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in Srinagar.

“There is no harm in the meeting of separatist leaders with any of the political parties. There should not be any interference regarding the government formation, rest there is absolutely nothing wrong,” The BJP’s state president, Jugal Kishore Sharma told the Srinagar based Rising Kashmir newspaper, soon after the meeting.

The BJP’s desire to have a say in the power corridors of the state’s political arena is understandable. If it forms an alliance with the PDP, it will be a historic first for the party. And to achieve its goal, the party has not only softened its stance on the meeting of Bhat, it has almost decided to support the PDP.

In fact, the core group members of the BJP’s state unit in Jammu and Kashmir will be presenting their views to party president Amit Shah in Delhi today ahead of a likely announcement of an alliance between the two parties late this week. A BJP leader said formal talks to stitch up the alliance would begin on Thursday.

When Firstpost spoke to Sharma on Sunday over his comment on the PDP-Hurriyat meeting, he refused to comment. “Let’s talk about this issue after the meeting with the party president is over,” he said.

The Hurriyat leader did not specify what he had spoken about with the PDP patron, only saying that it was “not harmful” if two people meet “without any formal agenda”.

However PDP’s chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar, told Firstpost that “when two senior politicians standing at two ends of political spectrum meet, they are obviously going to talk politics”. Akhtar though, refused to disclose details on the discussion Bhat had with Mufti.

But a senior PDP leader told Firstpost late on Sunday that the two leaders had a discussion on “reviving the peace process started by Vajpayee and holding dialogue with Pakistan.”

So does this mean that the BJP will use the PDP alliance to temper its stance towards the Hurriyat and relationship with Pakistan?

The manner in which the BJP has shunned its aggressive streaks in Kashmir at the time of ‘Ghar Wapsi’ campaigns in the rest of the country, is an indication that there is more to the PDP-BJP alliance than meets the eye. While the party is trying to play cautiously in the murky political waters of Jammu and Kashmir, the resumption of dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan will be a remarkable departure from its stated policy that may have a lasting impact on the party’s future as well as the future of the state.

Senior political analyst, Noor Mohammad Baba, told Firstpost any dialogue between Hurriyat and the Government of India could be a turning point, “If it is a condition set by PDP and accepted by BJP, its political implications will be far reaching for both parties. When BJP says there is no harm in meeting a separatist leadership of Kashmir, whether it is trying to tilt towards its would-be coalition partner in the state or whether it is a change in its stance on Kashmir, only time will tell,” he said.

A clear hint that something more was cooking behind the curtains came from the moderate Hurriyat chairman and Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who said that pro-India and Hurriyat leaders were “on the same page” over the issue of Kashmir.

“There is no difference of thought among mainstream political parties and the separatist camp when it comes to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Even parties with a Hindutva agenda who were in disagreement earlier have agreed to it. We all want a solution to the Kashmir issue through a meaningful dialogue,” Mirwaiz told the Friday congregation at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid.

“We are for dialogue and reconciliation. The facilitation of trilateral dialogue with the Centre is at the core of our philosophy. It is something we believe in. We would be more than happy to facilitate it, but the call has to come from the government of India. We can do nothing about it,” Akhtar, the PDP spokesperson, said.

All eyes are on BJP’s core group meeting today that will decide which way the wind blows in the state.