The divided INDIA house of opinions, ranging from the Left’s and J&K parties’ disappointment to Shiv Sena’s vocal welcoming of the ruling, will need reconciling into a viable stance that can counter BJP’s bid to add another issue to polarise voters in the heartland.
Crucially, Congress suggested that the polity move on from the sensitive issue, emphasising that the SC has concluded the debate on abrogation. The party fielded its legal eagles P Chidambaram and Abhishek Singhvi to convey that Congress was neither a petitioner nor a stakeholder in any of the petitions adjudicated upon by the apex court, rubbishing a query over whether the party would seek a review.
This Congress manoeuvre clearly betrayed a concern that engaging with Article 370 in the face of an aggressive BJP buoyed by the assembly poll wins can be counterproductive in the Hindi heartland where the party is struggling. However, the stance was unlikely to sit well with J&K parties NC and PDP, which have not only expressed disappointment with the verdict, but also sought to cater to their home constituencies by saying they will “continue the struggle”.
NC leader Omar Abdullah said, “Dil na-umid to nahin nakam hi to hai, lambi hai gham ki shaam magar shaam hi to hai.” PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti called the verdict a “death sentence” for the idea of India.
Asaduddin Owaisi on Article 370 SC verdict: ‘Now, no one will be able to stop BJP from…’
To Congress’s relief, however, the presence of Shiv Sena vocally welcoming the verdict, and the desire of heartland allies like Samajwadi Party and Aam Aadmi Party to duck the issue, suggested a greater convergence in the INDIA bloc. AAP had supported the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, but was conspicuously silent after the SC verdict. In RS, however, it backed BJP during the debate on the J&K Reorganisation Act.
When the allies meet at the next meeting on December 19, the issue is likely to gain centre stage and the alliance may come out with a joint statement, possibly limiting its aggression to the demand for restoration of J&K’s statehood.
The safety-first stance of the opposition parties stems from BJP’s assembly wins which it plans to build upon with the upcoming inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, raising concerns that insertion of the J&K issue into the debate will further help BJP paint the opposition as pandering to the “vote-bank”.