Setting the stage for Government formation in Jammu & Kashmir, both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday formally announced their alliance after ironing out their differences over some of the contentious issues including Article 370 and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
The announcement came shortly after a meeting between BJP chief Amit Shah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti in New Delhi. PDP MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig and BJP general secretary Ram Madhav were also present. After the meeting, Shah and Mehbooba told the media that the alliance had been sealed and a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PDP patron Mufti Mohd Sayeed will take place soon to give a final shape to the agenda of Governance.
The announcement regarding Government formation brought cheers to the BJP workers in Jammu. This is for the first time that the BJP would be part of any power-sharing arrangement in J&K. The BJP has 25 MlAs from Jammu in the 87-MlA State Assembly. The PDP, with 28 MlAs, had run a coalition Government in the State from 2002 to 2008 with the help of the Congress.
Addressing reporters in New Delhi, Shah said: “In a few days, Jammu & Kashmir will get a PDP-BJP alliance Government. The deadlock that existed on some issues has been broken.”
On her part, Mehbooba Mufti said: “Keeping in mind, the development and aspirations of the people of J&K, we have formulated an agenda of alliance between the BJP-PDP.”
She went on to add: “This alliance is not for power sharing but for winning the hearts and minds of the people of J&K.”
Mufti Mohd Sayeed is expected to lead the alliance Government for a full term of six years. Dr Nirmal Singh is expected to become his deputy. The swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place in Jammu on March 1.
The date of Government formation would be announced after a meeting between Modi and Mufti Mohd Sayeed in the national Capital. Meanwhile, Mufti Mohd Sayeed said: “It would be a historic opportunity for the PDP-BJP alliance to remove decades of mistrust between the two regions of the State.”
He also said that with the mandate BJP has at the Centre, the ruling coalition in the State would be able to achieve much more on both peace and development fronts. Reacting to the announcement of a BJP-PDP pact, Congress leader Anand Sharma said it was an “unholy alliance.”
Cobbling together an alliance in the State after a fractured verdict was a challenging task. After PDP leaders rejected the idea of forging a grand alliance with support from the Congress and National Conference, the BJP and PDP interlocutors got in touch with each other to explore the possibility of forming an alliance.