BJP still in talks with PDP, NC : Amit Shah

Srinagar/Mumbai,

As the impasse over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir persisted for the 11^th day today, the BJP said talks were on with both the PDP and NC but there has been no “fruitful outcome” yet.

BJP president Amit Shah gave his assessment on the status of government formation in the state even as PDP’s chief spokesman Naeem Akhtar said back channel contacts and consultations were going on but the stage for formal talks had not been reached yet.

The comments by Shah and Akhtar came a day after BJP sought more time from Governor N.N. Vohra in view of the ongoing dialogue with parties on government formation.

“Talks are on with both parties. There has been no fruitful outcome (yet),” Shah told reporters in Mumbai.

“We want to form government in Jammu & Kashmir,” Shah, who was in Mumbai to review BJP’s membership drive in Maharashtra, said.

Governor Vohra has set January 19 deadline for the formation of government in the state, where the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has emerged as the largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member Assembly but way short of a majority.

The BJP is the second largest party with 25 MLAs. National Conference(NC) bagged 15 seats while Congress got 12. Smaller parties and independents accounted for seven seats.

“No formal talks have been initiated for government formation so far with the BJP or any other political party,” Akhtar told PTI in Srinagar.

The PDP leadership held several rounds of intra-party discussions over the past week and has been undecided on any future alliance in view of stiff opposition to a partnership with BJP by a section of newly-elected MLAs.

The BJP on the other hand has been aggressively pursuing the possibility of allying with any regional outfit so that it comes to power in the state for the first time.

With the National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, who is in England to visit his parents after their organ transplant surgeries, not expected to be back before January 6, not much headway is expected to be made in government formation.

Soon after the results were announced on December 23, the BJP sent senior leaders, party general secretary Ram Madhav and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, for discussions with the newly elected party MLAs in Jammu.

Madhav flew to Srinagar the same day and met several leaders of Valley-based political parties, including PDP’s Muzaffar Hussain Baigh. — PTI