Naeem Akhtar said that all options are still open
PDP workers dance as they celebrate their party's win, in Srinagar. (Photo: PTI)
Srinagar: BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday was hopeful that talks on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir will yield results. “Talks are going on. Let’s see what happens,” he said.
In Srinagar, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti sought to assure party cadres and the people it would not deviate from the principles it stands for while taking the final call. “I want to assure my party cadres and the people that whatever decision is to be taken will be taken in the larger interest of the state and its people,” she said.
PDP chief spokesman Naeem Akhtar, authorised by her as being the only person to articulate the party’s views in the media, said, “There are certain issues which form our core agenda and require an assurance that these will be accepted by our potential alliance partner, whichever party it might be.”
Replying to questions, Mr Akhtar said, “All options are still open, no decision has been taken yet on formation of government in the state with any other party.” He said that the PDP leadership was discussing all its options for government formation, including an alliance with the BJP.
Asked if his party would consider the demand for rotational Chief Ministership from any future alliance partner, the PDP spokesman said negotiations have not reached that stage with any party. He said that the Congress has also given a proposal for government formation to the PDP, which is under consideration.
On the National Congress’s offer of “unconditional” support, Mr Akhtar said his party has received no such communication from its archrival. He said, “As and when such an offer is received we will surely discuss it and decide the future course of action.”
Sources in the PDP said that some of its senior leaders, including vice-president Baig, who served as deputy chief minister in the previous PDP-Congress government (2002-06) are keen on a tie-up with the BJP.
A senior PDP functionary said, "He (Mr Baig) already sees himself riding the horse." Mr Baig is reported to have argued that Jammu and Kashmir being cash-starved and caught in the worst ethnic and regional polarisation needs a strong political arrangement to rule from Srinagar and Jammu for the next six years. According to him, since the BJP and the PDP have emerged as the main representative parties of its two majority regions, they alone can fill the void.
On the other hand, some other influential leaders within the party are strongly opposing an alliance with the BJP on the grounds that such a partnership can reverse the gains made by the party in recent times.
They also point out that all but one of the BJP’s 30 candidates who contested in Kashmir Valley even lost their deposits and it would be tantamount to committing suicide if the PDP cobbles up a coalition with the BJP given the fact that it (PDP) has won 25 seats in the Valley and only three in the Jammu region. The BJP has drawn a blank also in the Ladakh region.
While the PDP has been caught in a catch-22 situation, the NC, which has 15 seats and can play a key role in government formation, withdrew from the race following open expression of dissent by some senior party leaders, including recently elected MLAs, after Mr Abdullah reportedly met BJP chief Amit Shah and senior party leader Arun Jaitley in Delhi for discussions on government formation earlier this week.
The Congress, with 12 MLAs, has already extended its support to the PDP but the two together are still short of four seats to make up the magic figure of 44 required in government formation. PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has proposed a "grand coalition" involving the PDP, the Congress and the BJP which, he believes, can address all vital issues confronting the state’s three distant regions "more aptly and more efficiently" and would also help towards defusing existing tensions and cementing relations between the three regions.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad too has strongly proposed a "grand alliance" after including the NC in it but not the BJP. He said, "We can have Mufti Sahab as chief minister and the government will consist of the PDP, NC and the Congress."
The BJP has vowed not to allow Mr Azad’s dream come true. "Azad’s dream to be a part of government will not come true. Without the BJP it is not possible to form government in Jammu and Kashmir," BJP MP and J&K affairs in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna said. He said, "We have received the letter from the state governor about the formation of government. There will be our government within a few days. We are finalising the modalities and the new government will start functioning very shortly."
Meanwhile, Ms Mufti said the statements of PDP chief spokesman Akhtar should be taken as the stated position of the party on various policy issues. "In the prevailing hazy political scenario, unqualified comments in the media only add to the confusion and fuel wild speculation," she said in a signed statement here. Earlier, party national spokesman Samir Koul and MP Tariq Hamid Karra and some other party leaders had expressed divergent views before the media, prompting NC spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu to quip, "Have now heard six senior PDP leaders taking six contradicting stands in 48 hours. Complete chaos. Is PDP going to implode after a victory?"
( Source : dc correspondent )
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