|
Kashmir abuzz with fallout of Congress debacle
Thursday March 08, 2012 01:48:53 PM,
Sheikh Qayoom, IANS
|
|
|
|
|
Srinagar: The
Congress debacle in the Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa will impact
the balance of power in Jammu and Kashmir where it is part of the
ruling coalition with the National Conference (NC).
From analysts to the canny person on the street, the results of
the five state elections are being discussed avidly in the Kashmir
Valley.
Corruption is back on the agenda and the Congress would have to do
intense introspection on why it lost, winning only Uttarakhand by
the proverbial whisker and retaining Manipur, say a cross-section
of people.
Most agree that the Congress will have to address the issue of
corruption at the national and state levels more seriously. The
equation between the two ruling parties will also be under the
scanner.
"One thing is definite. The Congress will have to do some serious
soul searching. It will have to accept that corruption is one big
issue people will ignore no longer," said Muzaffar Ahmad, a
college principal here.
Some believe the Congress-NC power balance would definitely be
affected in the days to come.
"(Chief Minister) Omar Abdullah would emerge stronger as the
Congress will now be busy doing some damage control exercise.
"It might not affect the political scenario in the valley but in
the Jammu region the tremors from adjoining Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh cannot be stopped," warned Harbans Nagokay, a Jammu-based
analyst.
The Congress has 13 seats from the Jammu region and three from the
valley in the 87-member state assembly. The next state elections
are due in 2014.
The Congress leadership can no more overlook the infighting among
the state Congress leaders and the damage done to the image of the
party.
"If the Congress fails to put its house in order in the state, the
beneficiaries could be the BJP, BSP and even Samajwadi Party,"
said one Congress activist who did not want to be named.
The other view on the streets is that it would be smooth sailing
till 2014 for Omar Abdullah if the going gets tough for the
Congress in the state.
While some speculate whether the chief minister would prefer a
weak Congress, Abdullah doffed his hat to Congress general
secretary Rahul Gandhi, who accepted responsibility for the
party's debacle in Uttar Pradesh.
"Hats off to Rahul. Anyone can celebrate victory but it takes
courage to stand up and accept the blame for defeat," Abdullah
tweeted.
Some locals believe the results would have a healthy effect on
national politics.
In Uttar Pradesh the SP came to power; in Punjab the Akali Dal-BJP
combine retained power; Goa saw the BJP oust the Congress;
Uttarakhand was a close call; and Manipur stayed with the
Congress.
"It was believed before these elections that corruption had ceased
to be an issue in Indian politics. It was believed caste, religion
and region were the issues on which elections were decided. The
BJP's defeat in Ayodhya is an important development. Emotions
would perhaps not work in elections any more," said Abid Wani, 42,
a businessman here.
Said fruit-seller Mehraj-ud-Din: "I don't believe charges of
corruption against ministers and politicians can be taken
non-seriously by the party high command in the future. People in
politics will have to change for better. If they don't, what is in
store for them is clear."
(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
New Uttar Pradesh assembly to have 69 Muslim
legislators
A tactical voting by the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh
elections has not only helped
»
Mulayam Singh Yadav: The Phoenix rises again
Akhilesh steals show in contest of young
campaigners
SP decimates BSP in Uttar Pradesh, Congress
finishes fourth
|
|
|
|
Most Read |
|
 Israeli diplomat attack: Indian 'journalist' arrested
An Indian national claiming to be a freelance
journalist has been arrested in connection with the attack on an
Israeli diplomat here last month and will be produced in a Delhi
court Wednesday, police
»
|
|
Jat agitators torch police station, Army
called
District authorities in Hisar district in Haryana called in the
army Wednesday as Jat community agitators set a police station on
fire and ransacked and damaged a bank and its ATM in escalated
violence »
Jats block Haryana roads, rail tracks
demanding reservation |
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
 Muslim support to SP, weak Cong main reasons for BSP rout:
Mayawati
After
resigning as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Mayawati Wednesday
blamed the rout of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on the Congress,
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and mass Muslim voting »
Mayawati quits, warns against SP's hooliganism
|
|
 Was Osama
not buried but body flown to US for cremation?
While former
Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is popularly known to have been
given a sea burial, some emails leaked from an intelligence
analysis
» |
|
 Court quashes bribery case against Yeddyurappa
The
Karnataka High Court Wednesday quashed Lokayukta's (ombudsman)
indictment of B.S. Yeddyurappa for corruption in an illegal mining
scam which had
»
|
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Union
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Pawan
Kumar Bansal inspecting the damaged gate number 16 at the
Farakka Barrage, Murshidabad district, West Bengal on March
03, 2012. State Minister of Irrigation & Waterways, Micro &
Small Scale Enterprises & Textiles, Government of West Bengal
Dr. Manas Ranjan Bhunia and State Minister of Development &
Planning and Power, Government of West Bengal Manish Gupta are
also seen. |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links