J&K govt formation: Mehbooba maintains suspense, calls for meeting with PDP leaders

Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who has maintained suspense over government formation for nearly three weeks, will meet senior party leaders in Srinagar and Jammu over the next one week to seek their views on the issue. “The PDP president has convened a meeting of senior party workers and zonal presidents on 31 January in Srinagar to discuss the latest developments in the state including getting feedback from them on government formation,” a senior PDP leader said on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2601944” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mehbooba Mufti in a file photo. AFP[/caption] A similar meeting has been convened by Mehbooba in Jammu, the winter capital of the state, on 3 February, he said. The PDP leader said besides seeking the grassroots level feed back on government formation, the party chief will also discuss the organisation matters with the party workers. Launching a party membership drive is also likely to be initiated after the twin meetings, he added. The meetings have been convened three weeks after Governor’s Rule was imposed in the state after the death of then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on 7 January. Sayeed was heading a coalition government with BJP since 1 March, 2015 after the Assembly elections threw up a fractured verdict. Mehbooba was seen as the successor to her father as the Chief Minister but she has maintained suspense over the issue and not yet staked claim to form the government. Days back, she held a meeting with senior leaders who authorised her to take a decision on the formation of the next government but she has still not revealed her cards. Some PDP leaders had said that Mehbooba wanted a review of the work done during Sayeed’s 10-month tenure, especially with regard to implementation of ‘Agenda of Alliance’ framed with BJP. BJP, with 25 MLAs in the 87-member Assembly, has made it clear that it wants the alliance to continue and were waiting for 27-member PDP to elect its Legislature Party leader. Meanwhile, Mehbooba has lately brought to limelight her brother Tassaduq Hussain, a cinematographer by profession who has remained away from politics so far, amid speculation that he may join the party. Hussain has made a soft entry into the PDP by attending a party meeting following Sayeed’s death. PTI