The Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are working towards forming a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir before the commencement of the budget session of Parliament on February 23.
After another round of talks on Thursday, the two sides have come closer on finalising the Common Minimum Programme and are close to working out the structure of the government. “The CMP is 98 per cent done. A common understanding has to be reached on the wordings of the document and some of the issues after which top leadership of both the parties will meet on the structure of the government,” said a BJP source privy to the talks.
The two sides have all but agreed on having a Chief Minister and a Deputy Chief Minister in the State where the two parties secured the highest number of seats in recent elections. But whether the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister will be for a fixed tenure or by rotation are issues that will be settled at the “highest level” between PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The actual structure of the government in Jammu and Kashmir will be decided by the top leadership,” sources said.
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By all accounts, the two sides are close to an understanding on some of the prickly issues such as revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, clarity on Article 370 and delimitation of constituencies in the Valley. “The PDP has a position on some of these issues while we too have a position. Convergence on two-three issues has to be worked out. The AFSPA, for instance, is not an article of faith. It is a security requirement,” the sources said.
Talks are being held in a congenial atmosphere and those driving it are doing it with the determination that it has to be done, a senior BJP leader said.
Jammu and Kashmir gave a fractured mandate in the Assembly elections held on December 23 with the PDP emerging as the largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member House. The BJP emerged as the second largest party with 25 seats followed by the National Conference at 15 and Congress with 12 seats. Smaller parties and independents won seven seats.
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Governor’s rule was imposed in the State on January 9.