For the first time after imposition of Governor’s Rule in Jammu & Kashmir the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resumed talks for Government formation on Wednesday.
The BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, who arrived here in a chartered flight late in the evening, drove straight to PDP chief and MP Mehbooba Mufti’s official residence on Gupkar Road and held an hour-long meeting.
No details of the one-on-one meeting were revealed by either party but the development is seen as a step forward in breaking the deadlock in Government formation.
The PDP has asked for tangible Confidence Building Measures from the Central Government even as it has vowed to carry forward the Agenda of Alliance, a roadmap finalised by the two parties before entering into an alliance on March 1, 2015.
The BJP is keen to form a coalition Government again though it has not publicly reacted to the PDP’s new demands.
Madhav was authorised by BJP national president Amit Shah to hold fresh Government formation talks with the PDP as he was instrumental in cobbling the alliance together last year after talks with then PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and his aide Haseeb Drabu.
The State came under Governor’s Rule when Mehbooba declined to take oath immediately after the demise of the Mufti on January 7, leading to a constitutional crisis in the State.
Initially, the PDP maintained that grief-stricken Mehbooba was not in the proper frame of mind to take oath, but later the party revealed that it had serious reservations on re-engagement with its coalition partner against the backdrop of the experiences of the past ten months. Mehbooba said her father was not treated well by the Central Government.
Sources said the BJP wants reestablishment of a coalition Government in the embattled State before the Budget Session of Parliament begins on February 23.
Earlier, National Conference working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted about Madhav’s unscheduled visit and said something was cooking regarding the PDP-BJP Government formation.
The political developments began unfolding after ritualistic prayers were held at Mufti Sayeed’s grave in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara on Tuesday.
Sources said though the PDP is not averse to forming a coalition Government afresh, it is reluctant to begin the second innings unless concrete assurances are given by the Centre.
Sources said Madhav, who left Srinagar at around 9 pm was told the PDP was not in a hurry to form the Government. However, Madhav’s proposals would be discussed in the PDP’s Core Group in the next few days. “This indicates that Government formation will take some more time”, sources said.
They said the PDP would, like to see how the JNU issue proceeds and if any Kashmiri students would be touched during the course of investigation in the alleged sedition case.
Observers said both PDP and BJP have compulsions to re-engage in the coalition for the next five years as the parties have lost considerably ground in their pocket boroughs.