‘PDP will throw up a surprise on counting day’
The Tribune Interview: Waheed Para, PDP leader
Waheed Para of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the party will spring a surprise on October 8, the day the result of the Assembly elections is announced. The senior leader, who is contesting for the Pulwama seat in south Kashmir, tells The Tribune’s Adil Akhzer that the party is only open to forming alliances with parties that have a secular ideology. Excerpts from the interview:
How is the upcoming Assembly election different from the Lok Sabha poll? What are the key poll issues now?
This election is different in a few ways. As both the issues and candidates are local, the whole discussion is very local in many ways and concerns around governance are taking prominence. Water, electricity, unemployment and depression are among the core issues. There is also a big narrative about August 5 (the day Article 370 was read down in 2019), and the people of J&K getting dispossessed. So, we are constantly talking about Kashmir and its issues simultaneously. The parliamentary elections were more about sending a message to Delhi. Then it was all about talking of people, and now you are talking to people.
What efforts are you making to connect with people?
Our campaign is focused on door-to-door programmes. We are talking about what happened after August 5, and how we can reclaim the political space in J&K.
Do you think there is a change in the situation in UT after the Lok Sabha poll?
The outcome of the parliamentary elections has led to a decrease in the fear and the feeling of suffocation among people. The Lok Sabha poll has healed people and ended their suffocation… There is a sense among people that they can talk now. Thus, the narrative of confinement and restriction has changed. People want to be heard and represented. There is a vacuum and many spaces have been criminalised, so the mainstream remains the only space for conversation. People want to be heard democratically and fight for their rights democratically.
Many PDP leaders who quit the party are contesting against its candidates. How do you look at this situation?
There are a lot of people who are up against us. After August 5, there was a crackdown on the PDP and many people left under duress, or conveniently quit to save themselves. It is a challenging situation, but our campaign and politics remain focused on the pain and anxiety of the Kashmiri people, especially the youth.
How is PDP different from other parties?
We do seek governance, but we also seek healing, we talk about persons have been detained. I think the PDP is clear about the need to address the larger issue of the people’s dignity and identity. We are not the only stakeholders — people who have been detained and arrested need to be taken on board, too.
How many seats does the PDP expect to win in the upcoming elections?
The 2002 poll was a surprise for many people as nobody expected us to win so many seats (16 out of 87). This time too we will throw up a surprise. Although all agencies are working against the PDP for the last six years, we remain at the second spot. The PDP was everywhere during the parliamentary elections. So, our workers are rejuvenated and the cadre is seeing hope. We will definitely surprise people, the way we did in 2002.
Why was the PDP left out of the NC-Congress alliance? Are you still open for any tie-up?
They made a choice. The National Conference avoided an alliance with the PDP to safeguard its electoral interest. We are open to an alliance with the INDIA bloc. We were also open to not fielding candidates against the NC and Congress if they accepted our agenda, but they didn’t respond. Irrespective of it, the mathematics of alliance will determine our tie-ups, and we will favour an alliance with parties that are based on a secular ideology and are in the interest of J&K.
