SRINAGAR, March 10: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's victory from Anantnag has rejuvenated the State Congress and rebuffed the central leadership's efforts to make the party play second fiddle to Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's National Conference.Mufti defeated his nearest National Conference rival Mohammad Yousuf Teng by a margin of 52,000 votes.
``People have chosen me for my life-long belief that the Congress should play the role of a secular and democratic Opposition in this State to prevent the slot going to any anti-national force,'' Mufti told The Indian Express after his victory.
He said he had opposed the Congress-National Conference tie-up in 1977 and later, during Rajiv Gandhi's time, had even resigned from the Congress over the issue.
``I also quit the Janata Dal when I saw H D Deve Gowda falling to the charms of Farooq Abdullah,'' Mufti said, adding that ``people have voted me for my consistent stand''.
He said the central leadership under Kesri had treated the J&K unit shabbily, adding thatno important central leader campaigned for the State party unit during the recent polls. The only one who came, was on a sabotage mission -- to jeopardise the chances of the party's Srinagar candidate, Agha Sayeed Mehdi, he claimed.
``My victory is a turning point in Kashmir's history,'' he said, adding, ``For the first time Kashmiris have openly voted against the National Conference and shed their inhibitions against the Congress.''
He criticised Farooq for ignoring the State, saying that the Chief Minister was rarely in Kashmir. ``If he has not been able to rejuvenate his party after such a massive mandate, how will he help rebuild the shattered infrastructure of Kashmir,'' he wondered.
Mufti has asked the Centre to have unconditional talks with militants and other secessionist organisations as well as Hurriyat leaders in J&K to restore normalcy in the state.
``If the centre can talk to rebels in Nagaland, why not with people who are alienated in this state,'' Mufti said here soon after thevictory in Anantnag.
Referring to the autonomy question, he said that it was a national issue.Victory has brought Mufti to the centrestage of Kashmir's politics once again. The National Conference would have to face a more aggressive and determined opposition in the Congress. Mufti's emergence as undisputed leader of the splintered Pradesh Congress is almost certain as he has kept away from the internal squabbling between former PCC leader G R Kar and central leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Though, Mufti dismisses the infighting, saying ``one has to get working and things start falling in place''. ``We defied the high command when they said Agha Sayed should withdraw in favour of Farooq's son and they (central leadership) had to face the embarrassment, not we,'' he said.
The veteran leader acknowledges the role of his legislator daughter in ensuring his victory from Kashmir. Earlier, he had lost all the elections from Kashmir and had contested and won from Jammu and Muzzaffarpur till his daughter broke thejinx in 1996.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
