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politics

asking for toffees from them”. the PDP, especially with Mehbooba. stones and getting killed were the same
This severely affected her personal Loss of power has only made things who used to attend my rallies,” Mehboo-
political standing in the state, even as worse for her. Sensing bleak chances of ba said at a recent rally in South Kash-
the alliance with the BJP continued to being re-elected in the upcoming polls mir. “But, if it has hurt people, I apolo-
take its toll on her party. Whenever, and with no strong ideological glue to gize for it”.
a Muslim was lynched in any part of hold them together, the leaders are She has also sought to put accent on
the country, the PDP attracted some abandoning the PDP and joining the the demand for resolution of Kashmir.
blame too. Similarly, Mehbooba found NC or the People’s Conference. This has She now frequently pitches for Indo-
her position untenable as the BJP spoke raised existential questions for the PDP. Pak dialogue, highlights human rights
against the J&K’s special position in the Mehbooba has tried to fight off the violations and criticizes the BJP, her old
Constitution and pledged itself to re- increasing irrelevance by resorting trademark planks to mobilize public
voking it. More so, when the. BJP allied to her familiar soft separatist politics. support. But all of this looks unlikely to
NGOs filed petitions against Article 370 Over the past two weeks she has visited salvage her standing in the near term.
and Article 35A in the Supreme court. the families of two militants and called Or at least, not until the upcoming
By the time, the BJP unilaterally on the Governor Satya Pal Malik to re- elections.
withdrew its support to the PDP in June strain the security forces from harass- “PDP is certainly at cross-roads.
last, Mehbooba had not only exhausted ing them. Mehbooba more so. Her three year
all her political capital but turned her- “I request Governor Satya Pal Malik term in the government is likely to
self into a hate-figure. This was why, to issue clear directions to stop such haunt her for a while now,” says Naseer
far from triggering any protests, Me- harassment (of families of militants),” Ahmad, a local columnist. “Mehbooba’s
hbooba’s loss of power was widely said Mehbooba. She has also apolo- relevance lies in how she reinvents her
celebrated. giszed for the “toffee remark,” saying core politics and makes it consistent
It was apparent from the posts on she had made it out of concern for the and credible”.
social media. The posts and memes re- dying youth at the time.
flected a long pent-up frustration with “I was angry that the youth throwing letters@tehelka.com

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