Common face-saving programme: Delhi polls delay BJP-PDP tie up in Kashmir

Caetaker chief minister Omar Abdullah may have tried to put the People’s Democratic Party and the BJP on the spot by resigning, but despite the rhetoric, both parties may be willing to let the state be under Governor’s rule for over a month as they iron out the contours of a new alliance. For the BJP, which is likely to go into the Delhi polls looking to win a majority unlike the 2013 polls, a potential alliance with the PDP comes with having to agree to conditions on keeping special status for Jammu and Kashmir and removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in certain parts. For the BJP, this would be a change in its previous stance on both the subjects, and not wanting to be seen as being soft on the subjects, the party is unlikely to agree to an alliance with the PDP any time soon. While earlier reports indicated that the BJP-PDP could announce the broad contours of an alliance after Makar Sankranti, an Indian Express report on Monday quoted unnamed PDP sources as saying that the two parties were working on a “common minimum programme” to give both parties “a window for face saving”. The two parties also welcomed Abdullah stepping down as caretaker chief minister since it gives them time to work out an alliance without facing the blame for Governor’s rule being imposed in the state. [caption id=“attachment_2041475” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters image[/caption] The BJP has upped the ante against the Aam Aadmi Party, which finished second and formed the government following the 2013 polls, with its chief campaigner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, taking the attack to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. “Have you ever seen a political leader who says ‘yes I am an anarchist’. If you are an anarchist go and join Naxals in Chhattisgarh. Naxals too are anarchist. Delhi does not need an anarchist. A civilised society lives here and needs a responsible government,” Modi said during his Delhi rally on 10 January, in a clear reference to Kejriwal. The new government in Jammu and Kashmir was required to be constituted before 19 January when the term of the current Assembly expires failing which Governor’s rule was inevitable. The PDP emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member house, while the BJP was close second with 25 seats. The National Conference finished with 15 seats, the Congress with 12 seats and others with seven seats. A television news channel on Monday quoted National Conference leaders as saying that they weren’t averse to supporting the BJP but even with their support, they would require at least four more MLAs to come to power and would end up forming a unstable alliance. As Firstpost editor R Jagannathan has argued earlier , it is only a BJP-PDP alliance that makes sense for the benefit of the state, but the BJP would like to see off the threat of Kejriwal before they announce any change in stance on issues that have no doubt played a role in them being the party with the second highest number of seats in the state.