Finance Minister Arun Jaitley speaks to media personnel in Jammu.
Srinagar:
Whether the BJP will try and form the government in Kashmir with one of the two major regional parties - that is the focus of some of its top leaders today. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that he met in Jammu with each of the party's 25 newly-elected law-makers to seek their opinion and that they have authorised the central leadership to decide.
The BJP delivered its strongest performance in India's only Muslim-majority state, but fell way short of the majority at 44 seats. "The people's mandate shows that the BJP must be a part of the government," said Mr Jaitley today, adding that the BJP will try to win the support of independent or "unattached" legislators.
Senior party leader Ram Madhav is staying back in Srinagar, purportedly to hold talks with what party sources described as "stakeholders."
Also back in Srinagar from Delhi is Omar Abdullah, who resigned as chief minister yesterday.
The BJP has denied that its leaders met Mr Abdullah last night. But sources in his party, the National Conference said that he met BJP chief Amit Shah and Mr Jaitley and sought clarification on the BJP's stated position on abolishing Article 370, which grants Kashmir the power to make its own laws.
But not all leaders of Mr Abdullah's party seem to be on the same page. NC leader Aga Rohullah, a legislator and former minister, told NDTV that he has conveyed his strong opposition to the party leadership.
"People voted in large numbers to keep the BJP at bay. We can't give backdoor entry to the BJP to form the government. The last thing the people want is a BJP Chief Minister," Mr Rohullah told NDTV.
Leaders of the NC and the BJP have agreed to discuss the pros and cons of a tie-up with their parties, said sources. The National Conference landed 15 seats and claims the support of two more. That is enough support for the BJP to give government formation a shot.
The BJP, sources say, feels Mr Abdullah cannot push for an arrangement that would include a rotational chief minister.
That is the condition allegedly being sought by the People's Democratic Party or PDP, which won the most seats - 28. Headed by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, the PDP's opinions on several key issues are the diametric opposite of the BJP's. An alliance could be seen as a betrayal by their supporters - the BJP won all its seats in the Hindu-majority Jammu region; the PDP dominated the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.
However, his interest in coming to power means that Mr Sayeed is likely to talk soon to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about a possible partnership.
The Congress has said it will offer its 12 seats in support to a PDP-led government.
The BJP delivered its strongest performance in India's only Muslim-majority state, but fell way short of the majority at 44 seats. "The people's mandate shows that the BJP must be a part of the government," said Mr Jaitley today, adding that the BJP will try to win the support of independent or "unattached" legislators.
Senior party leader Ram Madhav is staying back in Srinagar, purportedly to hold talks with what party sources described as "stakeholders."
Also back in Srinagar from Delhi is Omar Abdullah, who resigned as chief minister yesterday.
The BJP has denied that its leaders met Mr Abdullah last night. But sources in his party, the National Conference said that he met BJP chief Amit Shah and Mr Jaitley and sought clarification on the BJP's stated position on abolishing Article 370, which grants Kashmir the power to make its own laws.
But not all leaders of Mr Abdullah's party seem to be on the same page. NC leader Aga Rohullah, a legislator and former minister, told NDTV that he has conveyed his strong opposition to the party leadership.
"People voted in large numbers to keep the BJP at bay. We can't give backdoor entry to the BJP to form the government. The last thing the people want is a BJP Chief Minister," Mr Rohullah told NDTV.
Leaders of the NC and the BJP have agreed to discuss the pros and cons of a tie-up with their parties, said sources. The National Conference landed 15 seats and claims the support of two more. That is enough support for the BJP to give government formation a shot.
The BJP, sources say, feels Mr Abdullah cannot push for an arrangement that would include a rotational chief minister.
That is the condition allegedly being sought by the People's Democratic Party or PDP, which won the most seats - 28. Headed by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, the PDP's opinions on several key issues are the diametric opposite of the BJP's. An alliance could be seen as a betrayal by their supporters - the BJP won all its seats in the Hindu-majority Jammu region; the PDP dominated the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.
However, his interest in coming to power means that Mr Sayeed is likely to talk soon to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about a possible partnership.
The Congress has said it will offer its 12 seats in support to a PDP-led government.
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