How the Gupkar alliance saw friends turn foes again
The nominations process for the first phase of elections has completed, but leaders from parties all once part of the Gupkar alliance targeted each other relentlessly until the last day of filing papers
The contest for Jammu and Kashmir’s first assembly elections in a decade is heating up but the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) remains conspicuous by its absence. Former amid much fanfare soon after the abrogation of Article 370, the alliance has all but disintegrated due to internal fissures.
The nominations process for the first phase of elections has completed, but leaders from parties all once part of the Gupkar alliance targeted each other relentlessly until the last day of filing papers.
The scenario stands in stark contrast with camaraderie between two regional forces — the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — that marked the beginning of the alliance and promised to usher in a new era of politics back in the day.
NC vice-president Omar Abdullah had on Thursday targeted PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti for giving party tickets to “relatives” in response to her earlier remarks on him taking a “U-turn” on contesting polls. The message was clear, the PAGD was a thing of the past.
Soon after formation of the PAGD, six parties joined hands to contest district development council (DDC) polls that were held in 2020. It won 110 seats, but the Sajjad Lone-led People’s Conference called time on its association with the alliance soon after. Civil servant Shah Faisal followed suit.
“The PAGD survived the DDC polls but ended when the NC refused to accommodate PDP in Lok Sabha polls,” said a senior political leader and two-time former legislator. “The alliance was never based on sincerity and even smaller players wanted a lion’s share of seats,” he said.
Besides the NC, PDP and Peoples Conference, the PAGD also comprised the Communist Party of India-M, the Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference and others that banded together to fight for the restoration of the region’s special status under Article 370, which was revoked on August 5, 2019.
Though both the major constituents of the PAGD, the NC and the PDP, joined the Opposition INDIA bloc in the lead-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The NC and the Congress, however, ignored the PDP in seat-sharing talks, forcing the party to contest polls from three Lok Sabha seats.
The NC-Congress combine stands intact for the assembly polls. While they have accommodated the CPI(M) in its coalition, the PDP and the Awami National Conference, led by Omar’s cousin Muzuffar Shah who is also contesting on his own, were left out of the seat-sharing equation for the 90 seats.
Shah, for one, was hopeful of the NC sparing a seat for his party but has decided to field candidates of its own now.
“The fault lies with both the big parties. Maybe after the results, the parties can join hands again,” said a former legislator who attended several PAGD meetings, emphasising that “anything is possible” in politics.