BJP will be part of govt in Jammu & Kashmir, could lead coalition

With Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party and Omar Abdullah’s National Conference competing with each other to do business with BJP, the saffron party has decided to use the opening to claim leadership of the likely ruling coalition in Jammu & Kashmir.

BJP sources said either minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh or veteran Jammu MLA Nirmal Singh could be the party’s chief ministerial candidate if it succeeds in driving a hard bargain.

The party’s intent was declared by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday after he met BJP MLAs in Jammu who unanimously favoured being in government. “BJP has got the largest share of popular votes in the state despite contesting fewer seats and therefore it has the right to form the government,” Jaitley said.

He added that a final decision on the matter would be taken by party president Amit Shah. On Tuesday, Shah had said the party could form a government on its own, join one led by another or support it from outside.

Sources said the MLAs were unanimous that they should be part of the government, thus relieving the leadership of any concern of incompatibility with a prospective partner from the Valley. “We did not win to sit out of office,” a party source said, adding that BJP was keen to leverage its tally.

BJP has also been claiming the support of Sajjad Lone and his MLA colleague and a few others, taking its tally to 31. Lone reinforced the claim to some extent when he said that he had met PM Narendra Modi before the elections and would not be an impediment but rather a facilitator for government formation.