PDP, BJP keep alliance moves under wraps

A day after Jammu and Kashmir got a fractured mandate, suspense over government formation continued, with the two leading parties—the PDP and BJP—keeping possible moves for an alliance, which could ensure political stability in the Valley, under wraps.

Committed to ruling the state, whatever the formation, the BJP on Wednesday decided to send Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Arun Singh as “observers” to hold consultations with party MLAs and state leadership. Jaitley and Singh will visit Srinagar only when the political situation firms up.

The decision was taken in Delhi during a BJP parliamentary board meeting chaired by president Amit Shah, and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers and leaders.

The board also tasked Health Minister J P Nadda and party vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe to act as “observers” and supervise election of the BJP legislature party leader in Jharkhand.

The legislature party leader would be the chief ministerial candidate, but prior to that the BJP has to decide whether to have a tribal or a non-tribal leader as the face of the BJP-AJSU alliance government.

Though party vice-president Raghubar Das is said to be a frontrunner in the race, BJP sources said he had faced graft charges in his earlier stint as urban development minister in the state.