The Congress will not be part of the new Jammu and Kashmir government - despite having allied with Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah's National Conference to win last month's election - sources told NDTV Wednesday morning. The party - which sources said also declined the offer of one ministerial berth in the incoming government - will offer support from the outside instead.
Less than an hour later Mr Abdullah said the NC is "in talks" with the Congress over its status.
Either way, three senior leaders - Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge; Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition the Lok Sabha; and the party's General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - are expected at the swearing-in, which may also see eight ministers take oath with Mr Abdullah.
Invitations have also been sent to INDIA bloc leaders Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, as well as DMK boss MK Stalin. The Congress' allies in the forthcoming Maharashtra election - Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar - are also expected.
Omar Abdullah will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister - Jammu and Kashmir's first elected head of state in a decade - after guiding his party to victory in the September-October election.
Speaking after his election win, Mr Abdullah had underlined a key expectation of his government - the restoration of J&K's statehood that was revoked after Article 370 was scrapped in August 2019.
This morning he told news agency ANI, "We have a lot to do. We have to give people hope... that this is their government, and they will be heard. They were not heard for the past five-six years..."
READ | "Have A Lot To Do": Omar Abdullah Before J&K Chief Minister Oath
In a remarkable turnaround months after losing a Lok Sabha seat race - in Baramulla in north Kashmir - Omar Abdullah contested and won the Budgam and Ganderbal Assembly seats in this election.
The NC dominated the Assembly election, winning 42 of the former state's 90 elected seats. The Congress - expected to do well - flopped, winning only six seats; it won 12 in the 2014 election.
This meant the Kashmiri party claimed 'big brother' status in the alliance and could name the Chief Minister; NC patriarch Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah's father, quickly named his son.
The NC's hand was further strengthened by four independents and the lone Aam Aadmi Party legislator also offering support - to the party and not its alliance with the Congress.
READ | AAP, Snubbed By Congress In Haryana, Backs National Conference In J&K
Those results - coupled with defeat to the BJP in Haryana - cranked up the pressure on the INDIA bloc head, with friendly outfits like Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction, an ally in next month's Maharashtra election, criticising its inability to play nice with regional parties.
READ | "Arrogant, Overconfident": Allies Twist Knife After Congress' Loss
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena was severe in its criticism, lamenting the Congress' ability to "turn a winning innings into a defeat" and for failing to control state leaders.
The latter reference was to the Congress' Haryana strongman and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, whose reluctance to ally with the AAP for this election, and to share the spotlight with fellow chief ministerial aspirant Selja Kumari, have been blamed for the loss.
"This always happens with the Congress," the Thackeray Sena, an INDIA bloc member, said, pointing to similar circumstances that derailed possible wins in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh last year.
Saket Gokhale of the Trinamool, which is also in the INDIA bloc, had called out the Congress' "attitude" towards seat-sharing and demanded the Congress "Learn!" from the Haryana election result.
For its part, the Congress has said it will hold a detailed review of both results.
Party boss Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and other senior leaders met in Delhi last week.
READ | "Analysing Unexpected Results": Rahul Gandhi On Congress' Mixed Bag
Speaking after the meeting, Ajay Maken said multiple topics had been discussed, including infighting and factionalism in Haryana and the allegations against the Election Commission.
Sources said the party realises things have to change for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, and that Mr Kharge had already met the former's Chief Minister, Hemant Soren.
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