PDP stakes claim to form govt in Jammu & Kashmir

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had an hour-long meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday—their first interaction since the PDP and the BJP moved closer to a pact on forming coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. 

After their meeting, which cleared the decks for an alliance government, to be sworn in at Jammu on March 1, Mufti said Modi had the mandate of the people of India to deliver, and the PDP-BJP government would work to deliver a healing touch to the state.

The BJP's Nirmal Singh will be deputy chief minister, and the Cabinet will consist of 12 members each from the PDP and the BJP.

Earlier, Mufti was elected leader of the PDP legislature party, whose meeting was held in Srinagar after Mufti met Modi in New Delhi.

In his letter to Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra, the PDP patriarch, who is set to become chief minister a second time, said the PDP-led coalition, with the BJP's support, would enjoy a clear majority and was in a position to provide a stable government in the state.

After Mufti’s claim, a delegation of BJP MLAs called on Vohra and handed him a letter which conveyed the saffron party’s support.

With the PDP-BJP deal sealed, octogenarian Mufti will return to power after a gap of more than nine years.

The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) between the two parties, which is to address the issues involving the two parties, will be released after Mufti takes oath as chief minister. It will cover all controversial issues, like Article 370, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and resettlement of West Pakistan refugees.

Mufti said the coalition's formation was like “coming together of the North Pole and South Pole”, as the December polls had thrown up a fractured mandate, with the PDP winning in the Kashmir Valley and the BJP in the Jammu region.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who negotiated with the PDP on his party's behalf,  said: “The parties, which are diametrically opposite, have arrived at a common ground on contentious issues. We have reached an excellent understanding.”