BJP, PDP hold first formal meeting on govt formation after Mufti’s death
Finally, Madhav & Mehbooba meet
BJP, PDP hold first formal meeting on govt formation after Mufti’s death on Jan 7
In a bid to break the deadlock over government formation, Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Ram Madhav met Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti at her Fairview residence here this evening.
This was the first formal meeting at the highest level between the two parties on government formation after the death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7. Madhav had last met Mehbooba on January 8 a day after the passing away of Mufti to offer condolences.
Madhav, who has been authorised by the BJP high command to finalise government formation arrangements with the PDP, reached Fairview around 6.30 pm and his one-on-one meeting with Mehbooba lasted for over an hour. Madhav’s arrival was kept highly confidential.
Though there was no official word about the meeting from both sides, sources said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and Mehbooba put her views on relaunching the PDP-BJP government in the state.
Sources said the fate of the alliance had been sealed and an announcement would be made after Ram Madhav briefs the BJP high command about the outcome of meeting.
“Mehbooba put across her viewpoint and the next few days are crucial,” a source said.
It is learnt that Madhav was asked by BJP president Amit Shah to meet Mehbooba today and get to know her mind on government formation.
Madhav’s sudden visit to the summer capital came as a surprise even to BJP leaders as they had no prior information of his visit. The BJP general secretary arrived in a special chartered plane around 6 pm and drove straight to the residence of Mehbooba. He left at 7.37 pm for Delhi. Though Mehbooba did not come out of her house to see off Madhav, sources said the BJP general secretary was smiling while boarding his vehicle.
Interestingly, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted about the unscheduled flight. “Unscheduled flight VTJSG just landed in Srinagar after normal operation hours. Something is cooking with the PDP-BJP government formation,” Omar tweeted.