Was that a feeler?

On Tuesday, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah posted a couple of laudatory tweets about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM had earlier in the day visited the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi to enquire about the well-being of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, who was rescued earlier this week from under 35 feet of snow in minus 40° C temperature, six days after an avalanche hit an Indian Army post in Siachen. Modi travelled to the hospital in a Range Rover and was seated in the front seat. "PM has switched vehicles. From a BMW to the front seat of a Range Rover. Tata Companies effect," tweeted Abdullah. The National Conference leader followed it up with another tweet: "I never did understand why our PMs didn't use Jaguar/Range Rover vehicles instead of BMW, considering Indian owners." With the alliance between the Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in J&K on the rocks, many expect the National Conference and the BJP to forge a coalition government in the state, if not now, then after a mid-term Assembly poll.