Though dozens of former legislators and ex ministers have already defected from Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress to newly launched Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) leaving less than a half dozen ex legislators in the PDP and Congress after central government’s August 5 decisions last year, but many more are dropping hints to move to greener pastures either by keeping silent or by issuing statements against the official stands of their own political parties . Ironically the former legislators of both PDP and Congress parties who even held ministerial positions not once but twice and thrice are choosing to remain silent than to endorse the official stands of their parties on post August 5, 2019 status of Jammu & Kashmir. When the Peoples Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti is herself under detention under Public Safety Act (PSA), her senior party colleagues to whom she allotted key portfolios as Chief Minister of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state have gone into political hibernation and they include also those known for their die hard loyalty to both late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and as well as incarcerated Mehbooba Mufti herself. On her own the party Chief Mehbooba could have even sought explanations from the leaders who were ministers in her erstwhile cabinet for not endorsing the party stand on post August 5, 2019 position of Jammu & Kashmir. Ironically even some senior Congress leaders yet to defect to other parties don’t speak in line with their party stand on post August 5,2019 position of Jammu & Kashmir and instead raise questions on the political future of their party in the post August 5, 2019 political scenario in Jammu & Kashmir.
Whether the PDP and Congress manages to overcome the increasing defections in their parties and National Conference activates it’s legislators on ground or not , the coming months for all the three mainstream parties-PDP, Congress and National Conference would be challenging for their survival on the political landscape of Jammu & Kashmir.
Not only the senior leaders of the Congress party, but dozens of former National Conference legislators having held the positions of ministers once or twice also don’t bother to speak on the post August 5,2019 position of Jammu & Kashmir. While the top National Conference leaders particularly the party president and three time former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah is launching scathing attacks on the incumbent central government over it’s August 5, 2019 decisions on the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state, majority of former ministers and ex legislators neither endorse their party stand on post August 5,2019 position of Jammu & Kashmir nor resume their political activities in their home constituencies. Whether the PDP and Congress manages to overcome the increasing defections in their parties and National Conference activates it’s legislators on ground or not , the coming months for all the three mainstream parties-PDP, Congress and National Conference would be challenging for their survival on the political landscape of Jammu & Kashmir.
