The INDIA bloc partners, except the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Mehbooba Mufti, are on the same page while supporting the chief minister designate and National Conference (NC) Omar Abdullah in forming the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir.
NC, Congress, CPI(M) and Panthers Party had sealed a pre-poll alliance and the PDP was kept out. However, the Panthers Party was unable to win the lone seat that was spared for it.
After staking the claim to form the government in a meeting with Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday evening, Omar said he has submitted support letters from NC, Congress, CPI(M), AAP and independent candidates to the LG.
The NC won 42 assembly seats, Congress 6, CPI(M) 1, AAP 1 and out of 7 independents 5 have extended support to Omar Abdullah.
Amid hung assembly exit polls, Mehbooba Mufti hinted that the PDP may support a non-BJP alliance in forming a government if they fall short of numbers.
Her offer came when the exit polls predicted that the Congress-NC alliance could win between 35-45 seats.
While the BJP could come second with 27-32 seats, the PDP may bag 6-12 in the house of 90 in which a strength of 46 was required to form a government.
NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah told reporters that his party will accept support from the PDP of Mehbooba Mufti even if we don’t need it to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the younger generation of the two families jumped in and Mehbooba’s daughter, Iltija Mufti wrote on X; “Unnecessary speculations. Let me put the record straight. PDP’s senior leadership will take a call on extending support to a secular front only once the results are out. This is our official stand”.
Omar Abdullah also expressed views contrary to his father Farooq Abdullah’s statement by saying; “They haven’t extended support, they haven’t offered support and we don’t know what the voters have decided yet, so I really wish we could put a lid on all this premature speculation for the next 24 hours”.
It is worth mentioning that being a member of the INDIA bloc, PDP was kept out of seat sharing also in the recently held Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Not a single Lok Sabha seat was spared for Mehbooba to contest. The PDP also contested the assembly elections without any seat sharing with the INDIA bloc.
Meanwhile, Srinagar’s former Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, who unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls against the NC candidate in the Zadibal constituency, has taken objection to the NC accepting support of AAP and wrote on X; “The @AamAadmiParty supported the revocation of Article 370, the repeal of Article 35-A and the downgrade of J&K into a UT on August 5, 2019. I believe inclusion of their lone MLA in the NC-led alliance is disrespectful to the aspirations of the people”.
“While one can’t expect complete idealism from any incoming Government in current circumstances; people have rallied over an aspirational agenda — identity, J&K’s flag, statehood and restoration of Art 370. These aspirations deserve an expression inside the new JK Assembly”, Mattu added.