For those who don't have the patience to understand the complexities of the politics of Jammu and Kashmir, here is one thumb rule: in J&K, there's politics and history according to the Abdullahs "" Sheikh, Farooq and Omar. And then, there's politics and history according to the others. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed leads the party that comprises The Others. To be sure, the actual base of the party Mufti launched less than 10 years ago "" the People's Democratic Party (PDP) "" is small. It would be no exaggeration to say that in terms of a base, the Congress is better placed than the PDP. But it is the anti-Abdullah family vote that Mufti has been able to consolidate.
This may not win him a second term in government but the depth of his feelings against the Abdullahs caught the imagination of the people of Kashmir in the last Assembly election, which led to Mufti's installation as chief minister after he'd done a deal with the Congress.
The result was two and a half years for a PDP candidate as CM followed by the Congress. Mufti became chief minister, a long cherished dream, as part of this deal which will have to be reviewed on November 11, the day his tenure comes to an end.
From the time he was a suave young deputy minister in G M Sadiq's government in 1967, Mufti was a rising star in the Congress. When New Delhi found G M Sadiq dispensable, Mufti was quick to switch sides to Syed Mir Qasim. He was made a Cabinet minister with charge of the Public Works Department (PWD) as reward for his exertions.
Amusingly, his official biography says he "resigned from the ministry as his first expression of dissent involving his political principles". This is folklore. He was made the Congress leader in the Legislative Council from 1972 to 1975. It was during this period that Mufti gathered many IOUs, made many friends and influenced many people.
It was during this period that militancy was making itself seen and heard in Kashmir fashioning itself largely as vigilante groups. Corrupt officials were the principal target of these groups.
One engineer in the PWD department had been threatened but refused to be transferred despite counsel to that effect by the state administration. Mufti intervened to let him stay where he was. The militants got the official in the end.
It was in 1977 that things began unravelling. By now he was chief of the Pradesh Congress Committee and despite his best efforts, Indira Gandhi "" who wasn't particularly fond of him even then "" bypassed him and did a deal with Sheikh Abdullah. The 1977 elections, seen widely as the only fair elections in J&K, proved unfortunate for Mufti. He lost from Bijbehera, his hometown. Worse, to the National Conference.
When Mufti lost again in the 1983 election, his alienation from the Congress was complete. Battling with the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi was conscious that Farooq Abdullah was holding more opposition conclaves than were good for him. And didn't Mufti keep telling her the same thing?
She sent an express message to Abdullah on the eve of one such conclave that it should not be anti-Indira, otherwise, he was in danger of losing his chief ministership. He assured her it wouldn't be, but, of course, that's what it turned out to be. Mufti kept telling Indira Gandhi, Srinagar needed to be brought to heel. Before this could happen, she was assassinated.
From Mufti's point of view, worse was to follow. Although in 1986, Rajiv Gandhi tried to win him back and made him Union Minister for Tourism, he went and signed the Gandhi-Abdullah accord in 1987. Mufti couldn't take it any more. He left the Congress and hitched his star with V P Singh's Jan Morcha. In 1989, he became the Home Minister of India "" elected, not from his home state that wouldn't return him, but from UP.
The virulence and depth of his feelings about the Abdullahs was there for all to see. Farooq Abdullah sent a message that he didn't want Jagmohan as Govenror. As home minister, whom did Mufti send? Jagmohan, of course, despite advice to the contrary by then President R Venkatraman. Abdullah resigned.
As home minister, Mufti's tenure was unremarkable "" his daughter managed to get herself kidnapped by militants in J&K, the Punjab insurgency that had been tamped down any way, was extinguished. So in the absence of any grand gestures, the V P Singh govenrment's "home" policy carried on until the government fell.
Now, after launching the PDP in 1999 and becoming chief minister, largely because of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention, has Mufti left a legacy for Kashmir to remember?
He would like to think he has, but this is not entirely accurate. The most important promise he made during the campaign was to dismantle the Special Operations Group. All that has happened is that they now function under the direction of the Armed Police. In winter, Kashmir saw loadshedding for up to 18 hours a day.
The only employer in Kashmir is the government. The embargo on recruitment from the state continues. Mufti's personal security is more than Farooq Abdullah used to have. Human rights violations have not decreased compared to Abdullah's regime.
In Kashmir, people are not as forgiving as the rest of India. They can see clearly that the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road is not a state but a Central initiative. Mufti keeps talking about a healing touch. People are wondering where it is.
Municipal elections were held in the state recently. But those who got elected have become security risks. Most of the municipal officebearers spend their time in the MLA hostel. In Sopore, a councillor's son was kidnapped recently and he put out huge advertisements in the newspapers saying he had nothing to do with elections any more.
Ironically, low infiltration has only benefited the Army which is no longer a target. But that doesn't mean militancy has ended in Kashmir "" only the targets have changed.
All this should be compelling reasons for the Congress to take things in hand and replace Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as soon as possible. But the Congress doesn't have a chief ministerial candidate. The current deputy chief minister, Mangat Ram Sharma is from Jammu and is a Hindu.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is being counselled by party colleagues "" Ambika Soni, Ahmad Patel, Mohsina Kidwai "" to return to his state. But Azad "" who knows his political career will end if he leaves Delhi "" is justifying his continuance on the grounds that there must be an interface between the government and the party in Parliament.
In the end, it is entirely possible that Mufti will continue as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Whether this will be a good thing for the state, is another matter altogether.
