Interview: BJP formidable entity, Cong-NC alliance good idea, says Iltija Mufti

New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir elections next month will see a third-generation member of the Mufti family contest from the family borough of Bijbehara. Iltija Mufti, 37, is stepping into the fray from a family bastion—represented by her mother Mehbooba and grandfather Mufti Mohammad Sayeed—since the 1960s.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is yet to announce any alliance so far. However, Iltija spoke to HT about the chances of aligning with other parties, her party’s goals, and her political leap, among other issues. She said that the priority was to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The political science graduate who became a major voice in the valley during the scrapping of 370 rejected charges that regional parties are nepotistic.

What made you decide to take the leap into politics?

Honestly, I have to admit that this is not my decision. The party felt it was best for me to contest because there’s been a complete vacuum since the past five years. The current state of affairs in Kashmir is such that the party feels that we need voices that are going to be strong and, more importantly, truthful. And they felt that I’ve been very vocal since 2019, after the scrapping of Article 370. And obviously, Ms (Mehbooba) Mufti also had quite a big role to play in this. I’ve always been a very political being... when you grow up in a political family where your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and conversations all revolve around politics.

Are you having the first challenge of dealing with charges of nepotism? Reports that people are disappointed in the party because they are ticket aspirants.

I think this is a figment of the media’s imagination, and this is something that is, interestingly, being planted in Delhi because I read about it as well. People in the party have no problem at all. In fact, this was an idea that was pitched by them. Like I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t very comfortable about getting into electoral politics, but they felt that this is a decisive role that I will have to play. And so I took it up. I’m sorry, I’ll have to dismiss data, speculation, and gossip.

But you have taken note of the fact that this has been one of those recurring themes that Prime Minister Modi also talks about a lot?

But he doesn’t mind aligning with them? He doesn’t mind aligning with Chirag Paswan? Who do you have in Andhra? The new chief minister (Chandrababu Naidu)? You have a problem, but not your allies. So, I don’t take this very seriously. Just because I am entering the political arena does not mean that somebody else should not get that space, because they don’t come from a political family, or they don’t have a political legacy, so to speak. They are immensely talented people in our own party, young people, young boys and girls who are not “Mufti.”

What is it that the party and you are promising? And what do you think the people of the Valley need?

For the past five years, after the illegal abrogation of Article 370, people have suffered immensely. And it’s just not economic strain. It’s also a psychological blow that’s been inflicted since 2019. There’s no sense of security. There’s no sense of dignity. There’s a sense that they’re going to be losing their identity because it’s almost like the government in India wants to do a lobotomy. They want us to forget our collective history, our collective identity, and our collective culture. And so we want to reassure people that we keep fighting for their rights.

The statehood is something that Congress has also talked about. What do you think of the alliance (with the National Conference) that they’ve just announced?

I think an alliance at this point in Kashmir is a good idea because this is something that the PDP has consistently said. So much has been done to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It’s imperative for political parties to put aside, set aside the political differences and come together on the same platform. You see, the BJP is a very formidable entity that you’re up against. They have agencies, they have the media, and they have pretty much everybody in their pocket. So I think an alliance is a good idea.

The positivity with which you talk about alliances—does that mean that the PDP isn’t ruling out joining together and that something like the Gupkar alliance could be revived?

The Gupkar alliance was Ms Mehbooba Mufti’s brainchild. And she put aside her ego and all her differences, and she came up with this idea that why don’t we all get on the same platform and pass a resolution? And this was way back, five years ago, right before they revoked Article 370. I think an alliance is always a good idea. But as far as the nitty-gritty is concerned, this is something only the party can answer. What I’m telling you here is my personal opinion. It doesn’t necessarily represent the party stand.

Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader and MP) and Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress president) were in the valley. Did they reach out to the PDP?

That is something that only Ms. Mufti can answer.

A lot of people were curious about the win that Engineer Rashid had. And now he is supposed to be fighting on many more seats. What do you think of that phenomenon?

I think the biggest lesson for the Lok Sabha election, in regards to Jammu and Kashmir, was for the government that is sitting in Delhi, for the powers that be—that no matter how much you try to orchestrate this propaganda of normalcy, and I call them normalcy acrobatics that they’ve been doing for the past five years, they stand discredited.

At the end of the day, people chose a representative who fought the elections with minimum resources, sitting in a cell in Tihar. This is a man who’s had very controversial views. He’s been pro-azadi; he’s been pro-referendum as well. He’s seen as someone who is pro-separatist camp. So when he wins, that is emblematic of New Delhi’s failures in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

You are critical of the BJP, but they were your allies at one point. Do you bear the burden of the alliance that went wrong?

Mufti Sahib gambled his party for the people of Jammu & Kashmir. There was a reason why he went with the BJP, because he felt that allying with a Muslim party would moderate Prime Minister Modi, just like it moderated Atal Bihari Vajpayee to a great extent. The kind of confidence-building measures that were taken during Vajpayee’s tenure as prime minister—even a Congress prime minister wouldn’t have done it. So my grandfather’s intention was never wrong. What’s sad is that he died with this sadness, with this aching pain in his heart, knowing what he was going to lose; his party was at stake.

The BJP also announced that Ram Madhav (architect of the alliance with the People’s Democratic Alliance) is back in the BJP and headed straight for Srinagar. Do you have any comments to make?

I’m not going to fall into this trap that you’re laying out for me. I know what you’re trying to say. None of it makes sense. And nor is it true. So it’s completely up to the BJP who they choose. We have absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing at this point will make the BJP popular. They’re extremely unpopular. They’re so unpopular in their own bastions in Jammu that people just want them gone. And I’m afraid that no matter how many rallies the union ministers make, it is not going to help because people have had enough of their nonsense.