Days before the vote count, major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have begun to identify their potential alliance partners from among the smaller groups and independents and talk to them in an effort to bear the palm in the government formation. The local watchers say that in the event of the recently held Assembly elections throwing a hung house, the government formation may involve complex and protracted negotiations between political parties. The winning independents will play a crucial role in the formation of the next government, they say.
In this backdrop, the BJP, even though it publicly claims that it will inch close to the majority mark on its own, has directly or through emissaries approached regional political groups and some independents who are widely believed to have won the voters’ trust to seek their help to push past the majority mark of 46 in the House of 90 required to form a government. Presumably, the BJP thinks it may fall short of numbers as many of those who were accused by its opponents of being its proxies have not performed well in the Assembly elections the polling for which was held in three phases-September 18 and 25 and October 1. Also, the BJP is unlikely to win any of the Kashmir Valley’s 47 seats which would be quite in contrast to its performance in the Dogra heartland.
On the other hand, the National Conference (NC)-Congress combine too is chasing potential allies from among the smaller groups and independents. The People’s Dem.
