With eye on Delhi polls, will BJP opt for President's Rule in J&K?

While the BJP has acknowledged that it is in talks with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir, will the impending Delhi polls mean that the party won’t formally announce an alliance until the voting there is over?

The PDP has laid down a list of promises to be fulfilled by any potential alliance partner, which includes backing it on Article 370 of the Constitution and the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in parts of the state. Both are demands that the BJP had refused to accede to earlier. The BJP may also need to promise greater flexibility on talks with Pakistan and the Hurriyat , both of which the party has shown no inclination towards doing.

However, while it is ready to consider going back on its previous stance on some of these issues, the BJP is not just worried about upsetting its supporters in Jammu but also about how political opponents like the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party may use it against them in the upcoming Delhi polls, reports the Hindustan Times .

The two parties are not close to finalising a common minimum programme for the power sharing agreement and as a result, the state could come under a period of Governor’s rule if the two parties are unable to come to an agreement before the 19 January deadline, says the report.

BJP has indicated that a committee of some senior leaders is likely to constituted to hold further talks with the PDP leadership and work out a common programme for good governance. Some reports indicated that a clear picture could emerge only after Makar Sankranti which falls on 14 January.

The BJP has been keen to be a part of the government in the state and its top brass held consultations with its party leaders from the state yesterday in Delhi.

Sources in the PDP said party chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is likely to travel to Jammu at the end of this week to “take the talks for government formation to the next level but nothing has been finalised so far.”

The PDP has refused to comment on the possibility of rotating the post of chief minister between the two parties, saying that discussions on the matter were still to take place.

The BJP is presently backing itself to win the Delhi elections in which it had emerged the single largest party after the 2013 polls. Although given a scare by the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party in the state, Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to hold a dharna while he was still the Chief Minister and step down from the post in 49 days has seen a large segment of support erode from him.

While the Election Commission is still to announce the date for the Delhi polls, it has reportedly decided  that the results will be announced before 15 February and the announcement for the date of the poll will be made by outgoing Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath before his last day on 15 January.

A pre-poll survey held in 2014 predicted that the BJP will be winning with a complete majority, and the party will be keen to ensure that it doesn’t spark any controversy, especially in connection with the sensitive state of Jammu and Kashmir, in the run-up to the election.