Srinagar:
As the counting of votes in Jammu and Kashmir threw up a deeply fractured verdict today, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a startling - once unimaginable - offer of support to his rival Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose People's Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged as the largest party in the state.
"There is a crack (in the window) open for the PDP," Mr Abdullah, 44, said in an interview to NDTV, revealing that he was open to the possibility "if Mufti Sayeed picks up the phone" and calls.
"I see Lalu (Yadav) and Nitish (Kumar) come together. Did you imagine that would be possible?" he argued.
Mr Abdullah, who lost his bid for a second term as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, also said he cannot definitely rule out an alliance with the BJP, which delivered its best performance in the state. "It is 99 per cent no," he said.
Refusing to speculate on possible discussions with the BJP or its president Amit Shah, he said, "Let the call come."
He asserted, however, that his National Conference was not in talks with any party at present.
"The National Conference is not ruling anything in or out. The onus is not on me to offer my support. It is on the BJP, the Congress and the PDP to cobble up a government," he said.
The National Conference has placed third after the PDP and the BJP in a verdict that Mr Abdullah described as a "mess," one that has left Governor's rule as a distinct possibility.
"There are two people's seats I would not want to be sitting in right now. One is Mufti Sayeed, the other is governor NN Vohra. This is a verdict the governor will find very difficult to navigate around if the BJP-PDP combination doesn't work out," he said.
He added, "God help Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed). This is not the government I would like to have headed. I would hate to be in his position right now."
Mr Abdullah won only one of the two constituencies that he contested after a close fight that he admitted left his "knee trembling."
"I was staring at the possibility that I would have no work tomorrow. It hasn't happened to me since I was in college," he confessed.