Sometime back an observer of Kashmir politics asked me an interesting though self-evident question: How would Mufti Sayeed have handled this situation in J&K had he been at the helm? The obvious reference being to the post-2019 J&K.

That the current power-sharing arrangement -- Chief Minister presiding over a government with a popular mandate but limited leverage -- would be tested was a foregone conclusion. This dual-power structure was always going to create friction but then managing power asymmetries is very much an intrinsic part of statecraft.

Given the similar autonomist ideology and Valley centric political base, both the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party perforce pursue similar agendas. The contrast, if any, will lie not in goals and objectives but in style, strategy, and the grammar of governance.

Mufti, as a Congress man, was tutored in a situation of extreme political adversity of being persona non grata and facing social boycotts. That principally taught him how to turn adversities into opportunities. It also tempered his political temperament as he navigated his way up; to the top from the rank and file, one step at a time over exactly half a century. He joined politics in 1954 and 2016 he passed away as Chief Minister.

Omar Abdullah, by contrast, joined politics, contested parliamentary elections and became one of the youngest Union ministers all in the same year,1999. At 56, he is currently serving his second term as Chief Minister, after having been a Union Minister earlier.

This generational and experiential gap will obviously manifest itself in the style and method of governance. While a differently experienced Omar Abdullah seems to favour a modern, candid but hierarchical style. Mufti had a traditional but inclusive style with a touch of informality.

Instead of confronting the dual-power architecture directly,........

© Greater Kashmir