Those familiar with intricate Kashmir politics do not rule out further delay in the assembly elections. Primarily, because the BJP having 'invested' so much for so long in Kashmir would try its best to wait a little longer if only to secure the 'gains' it believes to have achieved after its deafening action on August 5, 2019, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'If, as happened in Baramulla during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the youth in the Valley get triggered enough to jump into the wider fray, the end result would be difficult to predict, especially as the state's post-August 5, 2019 political format remains substantially fragmented and foggy,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The fourth phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir ended peacefully on Sunday recording a turnout of 49 per cent, the lowest compared to the earlier three phases.
Under attack over pro-Pakistan slogans and flags being waved at a rally by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Thursday said it was "not acceptable" and "will not be tolerated'.
The 56-year-old leader, daughter of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, will take oath of office at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Monday at 11.00 am.
The change in Anantnag's demographic after delimitation has added layers of political complexities to the constituency with Pahari-Gujjar, Jammu versus Kashmir dimensions.
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.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
Breaking his silence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday disapproved of comments of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed giving credit to Pakistan, Hurriyat and militants for smooth conduct of Assembly polls, saying such a statement cannot be supported.
He made it clear that the issue of national security cannot be compromised.
It said the BJP could cause trouble for the country by tying up with PDP.
The challenges will be the real test of Mehbooba's leadership qualities and political acumen as she does not enjoy her father's stature and vast political experience.
She said and reasoned that the PDP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the state needed a leader of the stature of Sayeed to run it.
Opposition National Conference on Thursday termed the statement of union home minister on the revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir as "unfortunate and counter-productive
Sources said the sudden death of Sayeed leaves the BJP with little choice but to go with his obvious successor.
From a Pakistan-trained militant to one of the prominent separatist faces in Kashmir, life has come a full circle for chief of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik, who was in limelight for varied reasons over the past three decades of turmoil in the erstwhile restive border state.
"It will take time," Sayeed told media persons.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed wanted a government with the PDP (representing Kashmir), the BJP (representing Jammu) and the Congress (representing Ladakh), but he failed because the BJp and Congress were unwilling to make any exception to their national level inimical relationship, reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Gandhi's flying into Srinagar to meet Mehbooba assumes significance as there are reports that the PDP and the BJP are bargaining afresh over the formation of a new government.
'My mother feels it will be tough and emotional for her to enter an assembly which has essentially been reduced to a municipality now.' 'My opinion is that even if it is a municipality one cannot cede that space to the BJP.'
Mehbooba Mufti is likely to call a meeting of senior party leaders in the coming days to clear the "misgivings" about the deadlock over government formation with the BJP.
As the deadlock over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir continued, the state unit of Congress on Thursday backed Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to lead the new dispensation to respect the people's verdict in the just-concluded assembly elections.
Protests broke out in several areas in Jammu on Thursday against raising of Pakistani flags and pro-Pakistan slogans at the rally held by separatist leaders in Srinagar on Wednesday.
As of now, Azad couldn't be in the BJP leadership's calculus. The BJP has been trying to drill into the J&K electorate that this time around the UT would most certainly have a Hindu chief minister, explains Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Concerned over the series of attacks on mobile phone towers in the valley, the Centre also issued an advisory to the state government.
Apparently referring to the recent incidents of communal attacks, Sayeed said that it was not in the interests of the country which had a history of composite civilisation.
BJP says it is sticking to the 'Agenda of Alliance'.
Children have to go to schools, study and come out as doctors, dental surgeons, engineers, teachers, Muft said.
We had a good talk with the chief minister of J-K: Rajnath
Twenty four people died and 49 others were injured, five of them critically, when an overcrowded bus rolled down into a 300 feet deep gorge in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
People, security forces and Election Commission should be the ones who should get the credit for the polls, said the Centre.
The veteran leader was cremated at his native Bhugterian village amid "Bhim Singh amar rahe" slogans.
The Kashmir-based PDP's linkage with the BJP could even be a turning point, provided it is safeguarded against real possibility of miscarriage. So-called fringe elements on either side, more so in the Saffron parivar, can easily upset Modi-Mufti applecart. They have only to drag contentious issues into limelight to do that, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
If Mehbooba is 'allowed' to survive unchecked she could transform her campaign into a sentiment typically suited to the ground conditions in Kashmir, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Congress on Sunday took a dig at the PDP-BJP alliance, saying that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed should be "careful" about the conversion agenda being pursued by the saffron party.
Singh said it was not possible for him to continue with the PDP which 'disregarded the demands and aspirations of Jammu region'.
There has been a decline in incidents of stone pelting, but it must stop altogether, he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will on Wednesday file her nomination papers from the Anantnag assembly segment which fell vacant on the demise of her father and chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
'What made him so adored even among those who didn't agree with him? It was his sincerity and a clear heart that throbbed for Indian unity which won him admiration across the faults of the political divide,' says Tarun Vijay, MP.
