Asserting that the party “would not do anything secretly,” Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said on Saturday that the party would work “shoulder to shoulder” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to provide good governance in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said their alliance would be based on issues and a common minimum programme (CMP) arrived at through structured talks.
“It would be a coalition based on issues and a CMP ... We will work shoulder to shoulder so that we give the people [a] good government,” Mr. Sayeed told presspersons after voting in the Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu on Saturday.
However, Mr. Sayeed made it clear that the two parties would have to arrive at a CMP through a structured dialogue before forming the government. “There would be a structured dialogue between leaders of the two parties, and discussions would be held on issues to finalise a CMP before forming the government,” he said.
The PDP has been consistently saying that while it was involved in back-channel parleys with the BJP, the two had not entered into “formal talks.”
Mr. Sayeed said they were in no hurry to stitch up a coalition. “Both parties have a vision and whatever will be the outcome will be before the people of J&K and it will not be a secret thing.” The Assembly elections gave a hung verdict and Governor’s Rule was imposed in the State on January 9.
