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| Edited By: Iftikhar Gilani |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 05, 2014, 07:41 AM IST
Who is your main rival in the race of power?
This election seems different, where we don't see fighting neither our traditional rival National Conference nor the Congress. In Jammu, it is clear that people are supportive of the BJP, as Congress has failed people. What I foresee is that the PDP will form government and the BJP will be the main opposition. We hope people to judge the BJP on the basis of the performance of their MLAs, in the outgoing assembly. These elections provide historic opportunity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to assert their identity, political rights and constitutional distinction. What scares me is the fractured mandate. I hope the vote this time is used with wisdom and discretion so as to give us a clear majority to address the challenges facing the state. The implications of the upcoming elections are beyond government formation and the results would be crucial to safeguarding interests of the state, resolution of Kashmir problem and securing the rights of J&K within the Union.
Q: Your opponents are alleging that you have a back-channel tie-up with the BJP. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, you didn't criticise the BJP.
A: Yes that is true. But the fact is we were not fighting against Narendra Modi. We were fighting the NC. So why we should have made Modi a poll issue. In fact, chief minister Omar Abdullah made Modi an issue in J&K. It was not an issue in the state. I believe the NC and Congress have nothing to relate their performance of six years in power to people. Abdullah during the campaign for Lok Sabha went around telling people not to vote for the PDP, as they are with the BJP, forgetting he himself was a minister in the BJP-led NDA government.
Q: Is there any chance of the PDP reaching out to the BJP in post-poll scenario in the wake of a fractured mandate?
A: In Lok Sabha we took a lead in 41 and the BJP in 27 assembly segments. But there is distinction that we took lead in 41 segments when people were not so sure of fairness of elections and they didn't know which way wind is blowing. For the BJP 27 was maximum. They cannot grow beyond that keeping in view the peculiar demographic profile of the state. In the past, we have not got much from Jammu region. This time we are trying to improve our tally in Jammu and we hope to form government of our own.
Q: The PDP patron and your father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has been expressing fears of a fractured mandate even though he headed an alliance government with Congress in past.
A: Yes, there is fear. The NC and the Congress will act as spoiler. But that will not stop us from forming the government. They will only be impediments in formation of a strong and stable government. Their only affect will be to decrease our numbers. But I am sure we will the mark of 47 seats.
Q: What is the difference between the PDP, the NC and the Congress. All these parties including you pursue dynastic politics.
A: My father has earned place in politics through sheer hardwork unlike Dr Farooq Abdullah. Mufti Sayeed took Indian flag at a time, when it was a social crime to join national politics. The NC at that time too was struggling to join Pakistan. Mufti saab fought hard and earned his place. I do say Farooq's father Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah also emerged through hard work, but he then handed it over to his family, the members of whom had no idea of struggle. In my case, you know better, in what conditions, I joined politics. It was impossible in mid 90s here to talk about mainstream politics. Farooq saab had fled to London. I joined politics when nobody was interested to join politics. I have been struggling all the time. It is unfair to compare me with Abdullahs. The position I have earned didn't came to me due to my family linage. But we do have a combination. My father is a good organiser and I am a good campaigner.
Q: There is anger in some quarters in Kashmir at the timing of elections in the wake of devastation caused by floods.
A: Amongst political parties it was only the NC and the separatists who are questioning the timing of elections. See what we need right now is a long time rehabilitation plan. So the next government which will take charge will have a six year plan unlike the current government which even if polls could have been delayed would have been there for just next 4-5 months. They had been preparing plans keeping elections in mind. After they lost Lok Sabha polls, they were using power to manage promotions, backdoor appointments, transfers.
Q: What are your plans for rebuilding flood affected parts regions?
A: The state government has submitted a plan worth Rs 44,000crore to the central government. But what we plan is to work for inclusion of Srinagar in the central government's smart city project. We will form satellite towns for Srinagar and Jammu. Both the cities are already overburdened. We will have plans for every region, depending on local needs and without disturbing ecology of the regions.
Q: Is your idea of self-rule still relevant?
A: We were behind many peace initiatives started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee that were continued by Manmohan Singh during his first five years in power. We want J&K to be a model of cooperation amongst SAARC countries. Even the PM working groups of which the BJP was part of, has talked about cross-LoC linkages. Modi has a great opportunity to script a path of development and cooperation in the region and that path travels through Kashmir.
