J&K Governor dissolves assembly as Mehbooba stakes claim to form govt

In a major development, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the state assembly under the relevant provisions in J&K constitution, said an official communique on Wednesday.

Governor's rule was clamped in the state on June 19 for a 6-month period following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government after the saffron party withdrew support.

The Governor's decision to dissolve the house, which had two more years to go, came shortly after PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote to him to stake claim for the formation of government with the support of the National Conference and the Congress.

Mehbooba's letter had stated, ''As you are aware the People’s Democratic Party is the largest party in the State assembly having a strength of 29. You might have gathered from the media reports that the Congress and the National Conference have also decided to extend support to our party to form a government in the state. National Conference has a strength of 15 and the Congress 12. That takes our collective strength to 56. Since I am presently in Srinagar, it wouldn't possible for me to call on you immediately. This is to keep you informed that we would be seeking your convenience shortly to stake the claim for forming the government in the state.”

Mehbooba's letter to Malik came hours after senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad suggested that an alliance of the Congress party and regional parties of Jammu and Kashmir—the PDP and the NC—may take place. “That stage has not reached yet. It was a suggestion on which we are holding discussions,'' he said.

Earlier, a local news agency in Srinagar quoted Mehbooba as saying that her party, the NC and the Congress have set aside their differences to protect Article 35A and prevent the horse-trading. "The BJP has started engineering defections in other parties for furtherance of its political motives,” Mehbooba reportedly said. 

She said the PDP will hold discussions and name a consensus candidate for the post of the chief minister.

Reacting to the development, the BJP has called its legislators' meeting in Jammu on Thursday.

JKPPC chief G.A. Mir confirmed to THE WEEK that the three parties will form an alliance to keep the ''communal'' BJP out.

''We are not bothered about who becomes the chief minister,'' Mir said. ''We are happy that the secular forces are joining hands for the betterment of the people of the state.''

The development came a day after senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig said on Tuesday that the formation of a third front by Sajad Lone of People's Conference should be encouraged. Baig in a press conference said Lone was like his son and the PC was like a home to him.

Lone had also written to the Governor staking claim to form the government with BJP's backing. He claimed the support of 18 MLAs besides the 25-strong BJP, contending that it was more than the required number for majority.

With inputs from agencies