News of five MLA’s defecting from PDP added fuel to the fire with BJP party members claiming that the MLAs are ready to join BJP and form the government in J&K after Amarnath Yatra concludes.
Jammu: BJP may make another attempt to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir after Amarnath Yatra concludes. It is courting PDP rebels in the state according to sources.
“Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief GA Mir on Saturday claimed that the BJP was making “desperate attempts” to “explore possibilities” to return to power in the state, days after pulling the plug on its alliance government with the PDP. However, any attempt at government formation by indulging in “illegal and unconstitutional methods of horse trading and other foul means” will be met with tough resistance, he warned,” Firstpost reported.
“Any such attempt by any quarter to defeat the constitutional provisions of the anti-defection law will be met with tough resistance by the people who would not accept any backdoor entry to power,” Mir said in the report.
“The BJP may make a major political announcement in Jammu and Kashmir after the Amarnath Yatra wraps up, sources close to the party leadership told News18, adding that a big breakaway faction of the PDP is ready to join the saffron party.”
Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta told News18 that, “In the coming days, I see dissatisfied MLAs not just from PDP, but also from Congress and National Conference, are likely to join forces and form a new front.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has 89 seats and any party or coalition would need 44 seats to stake claim to form the government. The BJP already has 25 members, while the PDP has 28, Congress has 12 and National Conference has 15.
Jammu and Kashmir is currently under Governor’s Rule following the collapse of the Mehbooba Mufti government last month.
“Shia leader Imran Raza Ansari, who was a PDP minister in the alliance government with the BJP that collapsed last month, told The Indian Express: “The party has been hijacked by vested interests. She (Mehbooba) chose her cronies over elected members to run the party and the government.’’
The PDP rebels believe that Mehbooba Mufti is allowing her family to interfere with party politics. “His remarks came a day after his uncle Abid Hussain Ansari, also a PDP legislator and a Shia leader representing Zadibal in Srinagar, slammed Mehbooba for running the party like a “family fiefdom” and for appointing her brother Tassaduq Mufti as a minister,” the report said.
The report added that Ansari, who represents Pattan, said the PDP had become a family party being run by “uncles, aunts, brothers and other family members” and no longer bore any resemblance to the party of the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. “MLAs want elections but the party has taken the position that the Assembly will stay under suspended animation, and this is on the suggestion of people who do not have a single vote to their name,” he said.
“Five PDP MLAs have spoken out against their party leadership since Sunday, blaming Mehbooba Mufti for nepotism and claiming to feel “suffocated” under her leadership,” reported News18.
“Nobody is willing to face elections and nobody wants to sit out of power for quarter to three years. We have made the necessary arrangements. If all goes well with the Amarnath Yatra, we may make an announcement sometime in late August or early September,” said a senior BJP leader and former minister in the recent BJP-PDP coalition in the report.
J&K BJP in-charge Ram Madhav, also known as the architect behind the 2014 BJP PDP alliance, met with Sajjad Lone, the People’s Conference leader, 10 days of the party pulled out of the alliance. People’s Conference has won two seats in assembly polls.
“Lone was in touch with Ram Madhav before the state elections and is said to have a close working relationship with top party leadership. His party — the People’s Conference — won two seats in the assembly polls. The picture with Lone and other BJP leaders was first put out by Ram Madhav on his Twitter account,” the report added.
The National Conference has demanded to dissolve the assembly and hold fresh elections in winter.