State needs a Government for development
There are welcome signs that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party are inching closer to the formation of a coalition Government in the State. Considering that the two have the largest numbers in the Assembly, it is a given that their partnership in numerical terms will be stable and good for the State. However, there are many issues that need to be sorted out as the positions of the PDP and the BJP are in conflict in some cases.
The establishment of a common minimum programme is crucial to the well-being of any proposed alliance between the two political organisations. It is this that has held up the formation of a Government for more than two months now. The good thing is that talks have been sustained nearly from the day the election result was announced, and they have progressed at various levels — call it Track One or Track Two or whatever.
There will obviously have to be some give and take from both sides, and the right amount of maturity on the part of the leaders from both sides can break the deadlock. Jammu & Kashmir needs a Government at the earliest, and a Government that represents the aspirations of all sections of the population in Kashmir, Jammu and ladakh. For this, a coming together of the BJP (which received the maximum of seats in Jammu region) and the PDP (which led in Kashmir) is the ideal solution.
The understanding that the two parties have reportedly arrived at for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha election in the State indicates some sort of a breakthrough, and prepares the environment for Government formation. Of course, the two needed to come together for the Rajya Sabha poll to counter the agreement reached by the Congress and the National Conference for the election. While the formation of any coalition regime is a complex process, the one in Jammu & Kashmir has added elements of complexity given State-specific contentious issues.
In the sharing of power, the political aspects, such as the choice of a Chief Minister, a Deputy Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers, could be relatively easier to tackle. What have been bones of contention are mostly long-held ideological positions of the BJP and the PDP which are in conflict over matters such as the continuation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and Article 370. But here too, there can be a thaw if senior leaders from both sides demonstrate a willingness to accommodate each other's opinions and are flexible about giving up — or keeping in abeyance — their hardened positions. This they will have to be done in the larger interests of the people of the State.
The dust over the election result has settled down. Kite-flying, with certain parties offering un-asked-for outside support and muddying the waters, has all but ended. It is clear, as clear can be, that the PDP and the National Conference are not going to form the Government, either individually or in alliance. The possibility of the PDP aligning with the Congress technically exists, but it does not ensure numerical stability. To that extent, the path is clear for the PDP and the BJP to join hands. If they fail to seize the initiative, they will have only themselves to blame. Besides, they will have betrayed the people's mandate.