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| Cong wooing PDP to keep BJP out of Govt | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 10: The Congress, which from day one was against the prospect of the "communal" BJP joining J&K Government, has finally got an opportunity to woo the PDP with a view to forming "secular" government in the state. The demise of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has provided the Congress this opportunity. In fact, his death has changed the whole political scenario in the state with the parties like the Congress making "very serious" efforts to cultivate the PDP under the garb of "secularism" and in the name of "Kashmiriyat".
The only difference this time is that the Congress is not floating the idea of grand alliance consisting of PDP, NC, Congress and three Kashmiri non-PDP, non-Congress and non-NC MLAs. This time the Congress wants to stitch up an alliance with the PDP and three MLAs, plus an independent MLA from Zanskar, who is also already with the PDP. The PDP has 28 MLAs and the Congress has 12. They need the support of just 4 more MLAs to cobble the required strength of 44 in the 87-member House.
Last March, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had mooted the idea of "Grand Alliance" to keep the BJP out of the Government, but the late Mufti had then rejected the offer and preferred a coalition with the BJP for a larger objective. He had said that the PDP needed the support of the Central Government to achieve its larger objective and the Congress and the NC were of little or no use. The NC, too, had offered unconditional support to the PDP to keep the "communal" BJP out of power and maintain the "secular character of the state polity", but with no result. The PDP leader politely turned down the offer and formed coalition government with the BJP ignoring the hostile attitude of Kashmiri Muslims towards the saffron outfit.
The situation has now undergone a change. The BJP, according to insiders, is insisting on at least "nine berths" in the Cabinet and demanding some "important" portfolios. However, the PDP leadership is insisting that the BJP has to accept the position it accepted in 2015. It is this conflict between the two that has raised the Congress' hopes. Reports from Srinagar suggest that "some top Congress leaders and PDP leaders are in touch with each other and discussing the possibility of the two parties making common cause with each other". Neither the PDP nor the Congress has refuted the report to this effect.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ghulam Nabi Azad has already met with Mehbooba Mufti at Srinagar the day Mufti Sayeed was buried and AICC president Sonia Gandhi met with her today. There are reports that Sonia Gandhi extended her support to Mehbooba Mufti. Sonia Gandhi wants the PDP to keep the BJP out of government.
In any case, it is the PDP which is in an advantageous position. It has not one but two options. It could form government with the Congress and it could also join hands with the NC. It is the BJP which is in a dilemma. Its dilemma is should it or should it not insist on more representation in the Cabinet and more portfolios. If it continues to insist on its demands, the PDP could turn towards the Congress or the NC and in case it doesn't, it will lose its face in Jammu. |
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