Mehbooba Mufti says PDP won't 'cobble' alliance but hints at BJP tie-up

After meeting with the J&K Governor for what she said was an informal conversation on the formation of the government, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti said that her party would not cobble together an alliance that would form the next government. Saying that the elections have thrown up a “decisive but divided” verdict, Mufti said," We will not cobble up a majority for the sake of government formation." The PDP leader said that the party wanted to form a government that would meet the aspirations of the people of the state who had turned up in unprecedented numbers to cast their votes. Interestingly, the PDP had been invoking people to turn out and vote as a means of keeping the BJP out of power. Mufti however invoked the policies of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapyee and said that he had initiated multiple policies that benefited the state including starting a peace process with Pakistan, a dialogue with the Hurriyat and economic packages for the state. “The UPA government had kept these policies for some time but then ended them,” she said. [caption id=“attachment_2024409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mufti refused to divulge any potential alliances. AFP[/caption] Mufti also told the assembled reporters that it was essential to have peace with Pakistan to ensure the development of the state. The comments come even as the BJP-led central government has stalled diplomatic talks with Pakistan. Mufti said that the electoral verdict provided a “challenging but a great opportunity for the leadership of the country” and said it was the responsibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that development reached the people of the state. “This is an opportunity for the people of the nation to reach out to people of Jammu  and Kashmir. If the leadership of this nation makes the most of this opportunity than Jammu and Kashmir will truly benefit from it,” Mufti said. The PDP leader refused to comment on alliance talks that the party has been engaged in since the electoral verdict and only said that “any formation that comes into being should be based mutual respect.” The PDP is said to be in talks with the BJP for an alliance that could see its chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed become the next chief minister of the state. According to reports, the BJP is willing to enter an alliance with the PDP as long they get the Deputy Chief Minister’s post. The front runner for the deputy chief minister’s post is reportedly BJP leader Nirmal Singh. As Firstpost’s Sanjay Singh had pointed out in his piece, the BJP isn’t in any hurry to reveal its strategy just yet and may finally announce any decision on an alliance with the PDP only after it meets with the Governor and party president Amit Shah. PM Narendra Modi may also take a final call on the matter. However, while the two political parties, that went into the polls with fairly different promises, may just gloss over their differences to form an alliance, as Firstpost’s Sameer Yasir points out, the people of the state have mixed feelings about just how effective such a coalition government would be.