Ahead of counting of votes, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said his party was open to the idea of taking support of Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party to form government in the Union territory.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the decision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory is 'temporary' and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will restore the statehood to the region.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union Territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
The leaders from Jammu and Kashmir's political parties were placed under detention following the abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre on August 5.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's power to nominate five members to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was at the centre of a political and legal debate on the eve of vote count, with the Congress and regional parties the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party on Monday opposing any such move during government formation.
On a mission to understand the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the all party delegation on Monday began its two-day exercise with Home Minister P Chidambaram promising the people of the state that their future, honour and dignity are secure as part of India.
Priyanka accused the prime minister of "speaking on unnecessary issues" while staying silent on corruption, unemployment and the alleged misrule under the NDA government in Bihar.
The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
She said on one hand, giant hoardings calling upon Kashmiris to "celebrate" the abrogation of Article 370 have been put up across Srinagar, whereas "brute force is being used to choke the actual sentiment of the people".
President of the People's Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti said that the was disappointed with the report submitted by the three interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir to Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday.
Mufti resigned from the post of the chief minister on June 19, 2018 after alliance partner BJP withdrew support to her coalition government.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has rubbished allegations by the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party about the death of a worker of the ruling National Conference allegedly in police custody. PDP has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister of State for Home Nasir Aslam Wani so that the "judicial probe can proceed impartially'.
The bodies of two village defence guards (VDG) killed by terrorists were found near a rivulet on Friday during a massive search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said.
Criticising both the Peoples Democratic Party and the National Conference as Kashmir-centric parties which discriminate against the Jammu region, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday termed former chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah's statement that there is a BJP-PDP alliance as "totally irresponsible and politically motivated".
The leaders who have been expelled are Dilawar Mir, Rafi Ahmad Mir, Zaffar Iqbal, Abdul Majeed Padroo, Raja Manzoor Khan, Javaid Hussain Baig, Qamar Hussain and Abdul Rahim Rather -- all former MLAs.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
Coming down heavily on the People's Democratic Party for creating a ruckus in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, Union Minister for Non-Renewable Sources of Energy Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said the PDP does not want any development in the state."The PDP just wants to create chaos. They don''t want any development for Kashmir and do not want to see the people prosper. First they attacked the Speaker and on Tuesday they took on the chief minister," he said.
The PDP looks a distant third in the race, observes Mohammed Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir politics.
Speaking to rediff.com from Kolkata airport, Sitaram Yechuri said that his party's stand is that if the AFSPA could be withdrawn in some areas of North East, why can't the the same be done in Kashmir. "For instance the AFSPA is now implemented in Tripura and some other states, which goes to shows that different strategy could be adopted for different situations," he said.
The boy, identified as Nihan Yawar, a resident of neighbouring Kulgam district, was travelling with his father for some personal work when he was hit by bullets fired by the terrorist at Padshahi Bagh bridge in Anantnag's Bijbehara area.
There is a limit to ignoring genuine aspirations of the people and suppressing their legitimate voice in running the affairs of the state, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The L-G will take decisions on police, officers of all-India services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases.
While the BJP emerged as the single largest party in 12 municipal bodies, it has majority in five of these bodies.
Mukhtar Khan, Yasin Dar and Channi Anand -- three photojournalists working with the Associated Press (AP) -- were among those who were awarded the Pulitzer on Monday night.
This is chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's first stern action against a ministerial colleague, since he declared a war against corruption in public life in the state.
Jammu and Kashmir's main opposition People's Democratic Party on Friday decided to stay away from the all-party meeting called by the Omar Abdullah government on Monday to discuss the present situation in Kashmir valley, dubbing it as a "purposeless exercise".
Mehbooba Mufti said she will not contest the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, pointing out that she would not be able to fulfil her party's agenda in the union territory set up even if she were to become the chief minister.
Mufti sent a communication to the chief minister asking him to withdraw the security provided to him.
'The good thing is the people on both sides are talking about Kashmir without fighting about it,' says Mehbooba Mufti, president of the ruling People's Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a fresh appeal to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party to attend the all party meet on Monday to discuss the present situation in the Kashmir valley.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday ruled out holding any dialogue with Pakistan and asserted that the Modi government will wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir and make it the most peaceful place in the country.
A police complaint has been lodged at Barakhamba police station in Delhi, against 26 Opposition parties "for improper use of the name of INDIA and use of the said name for the undue influence and personation at elections."
Abdullah said they are claiming that terrorism is over but the ground situation shows that it has increased in otherwise peaceful Jammu region.
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
The ruling National Conference as well as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed the Delhi high court's decision granting bail to Liyaqat Shah who was arrested by police on charges of planning a terror strike in the national capital.
The People's Democratic Party which has emerged as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir appears to be in the pole position to form the government in the 87 member Assembly. Rediff.com brings you images from the ground.
Claiming that Jammu and Kashmir had suffered on various fronts in the wake of partition, Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Thursday said self-rule could, to a large extent, neutralize its negative fallout.
The senior Congress spokesperson posted on Twitter that on many occasions in the past, he had "cautioned that the Kashmir issue or problem (or by whatever name it is called) was a festering wound".
