“Sir?”
“Hmm?” He glanced up.
“There’s a call for you.”
“From?”
“Faris.”
Samar reached out and took the receiver, nodding at her. Gauri left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Yes,” Samar said.
“Momina Aslam is going to protest outside the CM’s office. The plan is to ask for his resignation and make so much chaos that police will have to be let out and she will get injured in the process.”
Samar adjusted his specs, set the receiver down and dialled Atharva from his mobile.
“Hello.”
“Momina Aslam is coming to protest outside the Secretariat. The plan is to compel use of force and get caught up in it.”
“That’s all I needed.” Atharva sounded frustrated.
“Put curfew, block all entryways to the Secretariat.”
“That will look like I am scared of the reporters camped outside. Right now everything is media perception.”
“This report does not say anything, Atharva.”
“And that’s what she is using against me and the government. She wants my resignation, it’s personal now. Where are you?”
“Leaving from Shimla. Don’t make any decisions yet. I have meetings with KDP coordinators and some Awaami contacts. We will find a way to put out this fire. If it comes to No Confidence, Adil was talking about going shopping.”
Atharva chuckled.
“Safeguard the Secretariat first, Atharva. Do something to prevent her from coming.”
“I will.”
————————————————————
Seeing Amaal had flown far from his mind as Samar landed in Srinagar and threw himself into managing this crisis. He spent two days in Srinagar going in and out of stakeholder meetings, and then flew to Jammu to bolster the support there. He needed to get all their partners, members and cadre leaders to stand behind them first, give Atharva the solidarity from the party if it came to a No Confidence motion in the Assembly. And the route that Momina Aslam was taking, she was headed straight there. She was headed there trying to break up the KDP and Janta MLAs. Massive shopping had already started from Awaami. Truckloads of money were being offered.
Samar was brandishing his mix of warnings and threats at every level if simple conversations didn't work. So far, it was working.
His next stop was Leh, and that was a safe zone. Sonam had already rallied the entire Ladakh cadre and Samar only needed to sit down and show his face as the KDP President to bolster confidence.
It was on the 4th of June that he returned to Srinagar, and collided with the biggest shock of his life.
“Samar Bhaiya.” One of his MLAs from Kathua blocked his path just as he was walking into the Boulevard Road headquarters.
“Kaise hai, Dilerji?[150]”
“Samar Bhaiya,” he passed him a file, smiling big. “Dekh lijiye, urgent hai.[151]” He was a middle-aged, non-nonsense advocate from Kathua. Never smiled.
Samar nodded, smiling back.
He strode into the headquarters and went straight to his office. A group of members and secretaries followed him in but he smiled at them all — “Let’s meet in half an hour?”
