Omar Abdullah has resigned as chief minister this morning as politicking heats up in freezing Jammu and Kashmir. After a hung verdict in the assembly elections on Monday, political parties are doing the math for government formation.
Here are the latest developments in this story:
With 15 seats only, Mr Abdullah has made clear he will not take the lead for talks on government formation. He said he would be attending to personal matters first - he is headed to Delhi and then to London where his parents have undergone surgery. (Omar Abdullah Resigns as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir)
"Government formation is the responsibility of the BJP and the PDP because they have more numbers than the National Conference," Mr Abdullah said.
The People's Democratic Party, which is the single largest party with 28 seats is expected to explore government formation to install its chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as the next chief minister. His daughter and party leader Mehbooba Mufti said her party "is in no hurry" as it assesses likely partners. (In Kashmir, BJP Makes Huge Gains, PDP in First Place)
The BJP has won 25 seats, three less than the PDP, in its best performance in J&K ever, and has made it clear that it will explore forming government too. The party's Parliamentary Board has decided to depute a two-member team, led by senior leader Arun Jaitley, to hold talks with the party's newly-elected legislators to explore options of forming the government. (Next Chief Minister Will Be From BJP, Says Party's Jammu and Kashmir Chief)
BJP chief Amit Shah said on Tuesday, "All options are open. The option of forming a BJP government is open. The option of supporting somebody is also open. The option of joining some government is also open... all three options are open." (2014 Unprecedented Success For BJP, Says President Amit Shah)
BJP sources said the party is more inclined to an alliance with the National Conference than the PDP, since the NC will not be in a position to stake claim to the chief minister's post as a junior partner.
The Congress has said it can join hands with the PDP. Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress said on Tuesday, "We are always open. We have allied with PDP in the past." The latter is yet to respond.
It has also not responded to a googly bowled by Omar Adbullah when he said in an interview to NDTV that his party could support a government led by the PDP, his arch rival. (Omar Abdullah's Googly: Could Support PDP if Mufti Calls)
The BJP has won all its seats in the Hindu-majority Jammu region. It failed to win a seat in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, despite fielding several candidates. Its tally in the assembly has more than doubled.
A party or alliance needs 44 seats in the 87-member J&K assembly to form government. In any scenario but that of the PDP and BJP joining hands, other parties and Independents will be be needed to make up numbers. They add up to seven, of which two Independents support the National Conference.
