We want stable government in Kashmir, says BJP

The BJP said Thursday that it was committed to forming a stable government in Jammu and Kashmir and said talks on sewing up a coalition with the PDP were set to begin.

Bharatiya Janata Party state president Jugal Kishore said after briefly meeting Governor N.N. Vohra that his party's priority was to give a stable government to the troubled state.

"The talks are going to begun, the talks will be held in a congenial atmosphere," Kishore said, without however naming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the single largest party in the 87-seat assembly.

The PDP has 28 members in the house and the BJP 25.

"The priority is a stable government," Kishore said. "We are not in a hurry to form a government."

But he added that he did not foresee hiccups in the way of government formation. He said any coalition government which takes office will be in power for six years until the next elections.

On Wednesday, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav greeted PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti's laudatory reference to former prime minister and the now ailing BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee.