The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are heading towards forming a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir with leaders of both the parties apprising Governor N N Vohra separately about progress in their talks even as they prepared for a tie-up in the coming Rajya Sabha elections.
PDP MLA Haseeb Drabu, the interlocutor with the BJP on talks for government formation, met the Governor who earlier received a BJP delegation headed by party's General Secretary Ram Madhav, the party pointsman in the state.
Significantly after the meetings, Raj Bhavan issued a statement which said Drabu apprised the Governor "about the realisations which have emerged from the PDP-BJP parleys on government formation which have been continuing for the past about a month and the broad contours of the matters being finalised in the coming days." In another release, the Raj Bhavan said during the one-hour long meeting Madhav informed the Governor "about the present status of the ongoing BJP-PDP discussions on the formation of an elected Government."
Highly-placed sources said that there was no issue hindering the process of the government formation as basic issues such as whether the PDP will lead the government for full six-year tenure are settled. The BJP core group, which held a meeting at party president Amit Shah’s house in New Delhi, decided to form a team to hold discussions across the table on concluding the pact. The BJP leaders said that the PDP has taken the initiative, which has taken the discussion forward.
The leadership hinted that hostilities on the border have to be settles down before the PDP can convince the people in the Valley about the reconciliation formulae, on the lines of India’s former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s peace-building initiatives for the state.
'There has been an initiative from the PDP’s side. To take this forward, we held further discussions on the issue,' said Ram Madhav.
'There has been an initiative from the PDP’s side. To take this forward, we discussed (holding) further discussions on the issue,' said Ram Madhav. In 2003, during PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s rule, Vajpayee, in his public rally in Srinagar, had assured that “we wish to resolve all issues - both domestic and external - through talks.” The PDP has suggested a 2003 formula where the government can be formed by January 19, the stipulated time for the new Assembly to be constituted, but Governor can keep the Assembly suspended for a month till February 19 when the coalition is formed.
The BJP said that its team of negotiators with the PDP will be authorised to take decisions. The party leaders acknowledged that there was a forward movement on the proposals put forward by the PDP.
