The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) said on Tuesday that its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is intact and that neither side has set any preconditions towards the formation of the new government in Jammu and Kashmir.
It also indicated party president Mehbooba Mufti may take oath as the state’s chief minister but not before the seven-day official mourning for her late father and former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who died in a Delhi hospital on January 7, is over.
“Nothing has been decided as yet. Even the state mourning is for seven days,” senior party leader Mehboob Beg told this newspaper. Speaking about the difficult situation Ms Mufti has been caught in, he said, “When a person’s father dies, it changes his or her life forever. Mufti Sahib was not just the father. He was a mentor, a philosopher and the guide of Mehboobaji. She is still in mourning and it is difficult to set a timeframe (for the government formation).”
He added, “How much time it will take, I can’t say. She has to come out of the colossal loss she has suffered. We haven’t talked about anything, we haven’t discussed anything. The day she comes out of grief, we will discuss. She has to take the final call.”
Earlier, Mr Beg, who is also the PDP’s spokesman, told reporters here that the terms of alliance already worked out with the BJP will continue to govern the relationship between the two parties in the next government. He said the PDP president will respect the people’s mandate and carry forward the agenda of development set by the late chief minister.
On Monday, the BJP had sought to put the ball in the PDP’s court. saying it (the PDP) has to take the first call and made it clear that it wanted the existing power-sharing arrangement between the two parties to continue. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who is known as the architect of its alliance with the PDP, when asked about the uncertainty over the government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, said, “The PDP can answer this question. They have to think about the process they have to complete from their side. It is for the PDP to take the first call from their side. They have to decide about their leader and come forward. I hope they take a decision soon.
