J&K govt formation: Mehbooba Mufti likely to call meeting soon

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti is likely to call a meeting of senior party leaders in the coming days to clear the "misgivings" about the deadlock over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir with BJP.

"The PDP president is likely to hold a meeting with senior party leaders in the next few days to inform them about the last week's developments on government formation," sources in the PDP said.

The sources said the date of the meeting has not been finalised yet as several senior party leaders are stuck in Jammu "due to closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway".

The PDP and the BJP failed to end the deadlock on government formation as the meeting between their respective party presidents, Mehbooba and Amit Shah, on Thursday could not make any headway.

While the BJP said it could not form the government based on fresh conditions put forth by the PDP, the regional party maintained that there were no new demands made by it but it only wanted assurances on a timeframe for implementation of the "Agenda of Alliance" agreed between the two parties last year.

"The BJP is trying to give an impression that the PDP is making some new demands for the government formation which is not true. We only want implementation of the agenda of alliance. These misgivings have to be cleared," the PDP source said.

The sources said the issues flagged by the PDP president during her meeting with BJP top leaders are part of the agenda of alliance which was finalised by PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with the national party.

"The PDP president has made it clear time and again that she will stand by her father's decision of forming an alliance with the BJP as he was convinced that it is in the interests of the people of the state. All that Mehbooba wants to ensure is that the promises made to her father in terms of political initiatives and economic progress of the state see the light of the day," they said.

The sources said Mehbooba may also hold a press conference "in a day or two" to put forth her party's stand on the ongoing deadlock.

Jammu and Kashmir was put under governor's rule on January 8, a day after the death of incumbent Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

If the deadlock over government formation continues, Governor N N Vohra, who has been the helm of administrative affairs in the state for over two months now, will have no option but to dissolve the Assembly and recommend holding of fresh assembly elections.

While the legal experts here are divided on the section of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir to be applied for dissolution of the Assembly, Vohra will have to do it between April 9 and July 8 this year.

According to Section 53 of the state constitution, the governor is bound to dissolve the Assembly if more than six months lapse between the last sitting and first sitting of two sessions of the legislature.

The sitting of the Assembly was held on October 10 last year.

According to section 92, governor's rule will automatically come to an end after six months of its imposition.

"Any such proclamation (governor rule) whether varied under subsection (2) or not, shall except where it is a proclamation revoking a previous proclamation, cease to operate on the expiration of six months from the date on which it was first issued," subsection 3 of Section 92 reads.

PDP emerged as the single largest party in the 2014 assembly polls with 28 seats (now 27 only following Sayeed's death) in the 87-member house.

The BJP has 25 seats followed by National Conference (15) and Congress (12) and People's Conference (two).