Jammu and Kashmir government formation: BJP explores options, hectic negotiations on

Srinagar: PDP and BJP, which emerged as the top two parties in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, on Thursday night began talks in Srinagar on government-formation.

BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, who arrived here on Thursday evening from Jammu, held two separate rounds of talks with senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig--the first round at Baig's residence and the second round at a hotel where Madhav is staying. Madhav, who attended a meeting of a meeting of BJP's newly-elected MLAs in Jammu earlier in the day, also held a series of meetings in Srinagar with leaders of other Valley-based political parties this evening as part of efforts to cobble up a government in the state.

Baig, earlier in the day, said BJP and PDP leadership should talk to each other for forming the next government. While PDP has secured 28 seats, BJP bagged 25 in the elections to the 87-member state Assembly.

PDP spokesman Samir Koul said that lines of communication have been opened with PDP for government formation. "Talks are going on with BJP over government-formation in the state but we are still at infancy stage. It will take some time before we can make any announcements," Koul said.

Asked if PDP would agree to rotational chief ministership with BJP, Koul said "not at this moment". He said there were certain issues like Article 370 that guarantees a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, on which PDP is not going to compromise. "There are differences on certain issues like the political agenda of PDP -- Article 370, revocation of AFSPA from the state -- which we cannot compromise on," he said.

The PDP spokesman said the situation will be clearer in the next three to four days. Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Ghani Lone, whose party has two MLAs, was the first to meet Madhav at a hotel here, sources in BJP said. The sources said Peoples Democratic Front chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, who won the recent assembly polls from Khan Sahib segment in Budgam district, also met the BJP leader for nearly 30 minutes.

Democratic Party (Nationalist) leader Ghulam Hassan Mir, a minister in the outgoing government led by Omar Abdullah, was another prominent leader to meet Madhav, the sources said. Mir was a minister in the National Conference-Congress coalition government from Congress quota.

Meanwhile, amid reports that former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah met the BJP leadership — including party president Amit Shah and Union minister Arun Jaitley — in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of government formation in the state, a fuming Congress, the National Conference’s ally for six years, has, without naming Mr Abdullah, called him and his party “power hungry”.

The BJP, however, denied that any such meeting took place. The National Conference also ruled out any possibility of tie-up with the BJP citing a fundamental difference between the two parties.