PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti speaking to reporters after meeting the J&K governor
As parties in Jammu and Kashmir continue to weigh alliances after a deeply fractured state poll verdict, Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the largest party, appeared to lean towards the BJP today as she invoked former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's vision and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "has a big responsibility" towards the state.
"We have to bring back Vajpayee's policies," Ms Mufti told reporters after meeting with Governor NN Vohra this morning.
Her People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly, but is well short of the majority mark of 44. The BJP won 25 seats and the National Conference placed third at 15. The Congress won 12 seats.
Amid reports that her party could opt for a "Grand Alliance" comprising its arch-rival National Conference and the Congress, Ms Mufti hinted that the door was open for the BJP.
"Media reports say we have the support of 55 MLAs but we don't want to form a government for the sake of it. A government should be one that is about welfare and peace, and for that we need Mr Vajpayee's approach," said Ms Mufti, repeatedly dodging direct questions on whether she would join hands with the BJP.
The BJP's Ram Madhav said what the PDP leader said was "good" and added, "As and when something concrete happens, we will take it forward."
So far no party or combination of parties, has staked claim to form government. Last week, the governor invited the PDP and the BJP separately for discussions.
The PDP's top leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Mehbooba Mufti's father, has been meeting party leaders and newly-elected lawmakers to firm up a decision on who to partner with.
There are reportedly strong voices within the PDP opposed to an alliance with the BJP; the opinions of the two parties are the diametric opposite on several key issues. Also, the PDP, with three more seats than the BJP, is disinclined to yield the post of chief minister.
A government has to be in place by January 19, failing which Governor's rule will be imposed in the state.