STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: As suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday said the idea of a grand alliance with National Conference and Congress was an option for forming a stable government in the State.
“A grand alliance with PDP, National Conference and Congress as partners is also an option,” PDP spokesman Naeem Akhtar told PTI.
Akhtar said it was one of the options that can be explored to form a stable government in the state and also fulfill the aspirations of all the regions of the state.
The idea of such an alliance was mooted by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
PDP has emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member Assembly followed closely by BJP with 25 seats while NC bagged 15. While Congress won 12 seats, smaller parties and independents got seven seats.
No political party has been able to yet muster the support of 44 MLAs required to form the government in the state.
Congress, NC and several independents have offered support to the PDP for government formation.
Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is slated to meet Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Wednesday for discussing government-formation.
“The meeting of Mehbooba Mufti, Member of Parliament and President of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the Governor has been preponed to take place on Wednesday at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu,” a Raj Bhavan spokesman said today.
Vohra had on Friday invited Mehbooba and BJP state unit president Jugal Kishore Sharma for separate meetings to hold discussion on formation of government in the state.
PDP, which is holding intra-party discussions on possible alliances to form the next government in the state, has asked its newly-elected MLAs to go back to their constituencies for getting feedback from their constituents on such a possibility.
At the end of two days of informal consultations with the party MLAs, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed told them that they should go back to their respective areas to sense the mood of the people on the possibility of allying with the BJP for formation of the next government, PDP sources said.
The sources said the PDP patron wants to build a consensus within the party before Mehbooba Mufti meets the Governor.
On Saturday, PDP set tough conditions for BJP which is wooing it for the formation of the new government in the state, declaring that its stand against revocation of Art 370 was “non-negotiable”.