BJP Claims to be Single Largest Party, Says it Will Form Govt in J&K

NEW DELHI: In 24 hours of fast paced developments the Bharatiya Janata party claims to have cobbled up the support of 31 MLA’s from Jammu and Kashmir to stake claim to form the government as the single largest party.

The first indication that this was on the cards came from Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah just after the elections results from both Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand were known, when he said that “all the options” including forming a government on its own remained with the party in the sensitive border state.

Subsequently the party says it has the support of the seven Independents including the two legislators of Sajjad Lone’s Peoples Conference, and has edged above the Peoples Democratic Party to claim the ‘single largest party’ status. The BJP will now approach the Governor and ask him to call them first to form the government.

The BJP will, however, have to prove its majority in the Assembly and for this will require the Peoples Democratic Party to support it from the outside, if not in alliance. This will enable the BJP to bring in its own chief minister from the Jammu region and announce what Shah has been repeatedly saying, the installation of “the first nationalist government” in Jammu and Kashmir.

The PDP that is learnt to have struck a deal with the BJP will get one Minister of State in the central government and two Rajya Sabha seats next year. This is the information given out by sources to reporters in Delhi. However, there was no independent confirmation of this expect for the fact that the leaders of both parties are in “deep discussions” on this proposal as well.

The BJP parliamentary Board has decided to explore all opportunities to form the government in the state. Two observers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and senior party leader Arun Singh will be sent to Jammu and Kashmir as observers to finalise the modalities and ensure the formation of a BJP led government in the state.

Meanwhile chief minister Omar Abdullah submitted his resignation to Governor NN Vohra. He told reporters that it was for the BJP and the PDP to form the government and his party would wait to see the outcome. Abdullah tweeted earlier, “,"Incidentally in 2002, Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed) became Chief Minister with 16 MLAs and NC with 28 (MLAs) sat in opposition.So excuse me if I don't oblige by rolling over to play dead." In another tweet Abdullah summed up his response to the election results, “Expectations were hyped & twisted to such an extent that now 17 feels like a victory & 28 a defeat. Go figure!!!!!”

There is some speculation in Delhi that the NC too could help the BJP from outside support if the PDP does not cooperate to the extent expected by the BJP. However, according to sources, the PDP is not averse to the BJP forming the government as it will allow it to escape from taking its support in forming the government. This has become a major issue for the PDP following the huge opposition to this from within the Valley.

In a scenario which is completely open at this moment, the possibility of a NC-PDP government is also not being ruled out with both parties under pressure to explore this alternative as well. However, again neither side was confirming or strictly denying the reports.

The PDP has secured 28 seats in these elections, the BJP 25 which it now claims is 31. The NC with 15 is in the game. The Congress remains the most vulnerable group amongst these, unsure of the loyalties of its seven legislators and whether these will be immune to ‘poachers’ from other parties, in particular the BJP.

So far no party has approached the Governor to stake claim, with the PDP silent and visibly worried about the final outcome.