The BJP can only form a government if the PDP splits.
'Those who foment trouble in the valley have been told to lie low till a new elected government takes shape in the state.'
The Janata Dal-United on Tuesday became the third major ally after the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal to snap ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party after 2019.
'Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti acted single-mindedly right from day one of the three month-long crisis.' 'She pursued her chosen administrative course, unmindful of the menacing jingoistic drum beating in the coalition backyard.' 'At one point, I asked her if she was willing to pay the price for taking her line of action to its logical conclusion.' '"Yes," was her spontaneous response,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir.
Harivansh, a Janata Dal-United MP, is likely to get the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party said.
Aijaz Hussain won the Khonmoh-II District Development Council seat in Srinagar, while Aijaz Ahmad Khan gave the party more reason to cheer by winning the Tulail seat in Bandipora district.
Mehbooba said her party will continue to strive for dialogue and reconciliation in the state.
The Congress too condemned Mufti's statement on the Tricolour, saying it is unacceptable and has hurt sentiments of people.
He said he told Vohra that in this situation when no single party has the mandate to form the government, the Governor has no other option than to impose governor's rule immediately.
If Jammu and Kashmir comes under Governor's rule, it will be for the eighth time in four decades.
The fate of the BJP-PDP alliance may be known on Monday as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti talks tough.
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.
After the first meeting called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi and attended by 17 parties, the leaders said that it has been decided that a common candidate who will 'uphold the democratic ethos of the country' will be chosen as the opposition nominee.
It said the BJP could cause trouble for the country by tying up with PDP.
Bukhari, who was elected president of the JKAP, said the party's core agenda would be the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and its residents' domicile rights in land and jobs.
Opposition People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to extend invitations to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan semi final of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup at Mohali on March 30.
The police, in its plea, had contended that the veteran politician violated the bail conditions and, therefore, the bail was liable to be cancelled.
Though the PDP-BJP alliance staked claim to form government in the state last Saturday, the date for swearing-in of the chief minister-designate is yet to be announced.
"Grassroots democracy must get precedence than any other considerations, including security," the functionary said.
Clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling National Conference and Opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday during filing of nominations by their candidates at Kulgam district election office in south Kashmir, the police said.
The Congress will make it the main issue when its Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi reaches Jammu and Kashmir early next year.
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.
Mufti was among hundreds of people who were taken into preventive custody hours ahead of the Centre revoking special status of the Jammu and Kashmir and breaking the state into two union territories on August 5 last year.
The chief opposition in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party has breached the stronghold of National Conference in prestigious Srinagar Parliamentary constituency by gaining a lead in five seats with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah trailing in Sonawar seat.
The officials said the SSG will be "right-sized" by reducing the number of the elite force to the "bare minimum".
The deceased policeman was identified as assistant sub-inspector Mushtaq Ahmad.
The first signs of efforts to end the nine-day impasse on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir emerged on Saturday with Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti calling a meeting of her party's "extended core group" in Srinagar, expectedly to discuss the future course of action and ties with ally Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mahdani was arrested for the 1998 serial bomb blasts in Coimbatore and held in prison for the past eight years.
With the mourning period over on Sunday, the BJP expects political discussion within the PDP to start now following which it will respond accordingly
The Karnataka high court on Thursday rejected the bail plea filed by Abdul Nasar Madani, an accused in the Bangalore blasts case. The leader of the People's Democratic Party from Kerala, who was picked up by the Bangalore police, had moved the high court to seek bail on various grounds.
Mehbooba said the parliamentary board of the party, which met earlier on Saturday, decided not to field any candidates from the two Lok Sabha seats in Jammu region.
Briefing reporters after the nearly two-hour meeting, Abdullah said the leaders decided to formalise the alliance, that has been named 'Peoples' Alliance for Gupkar Declaration'.
The biggest electoral upset in the state was witnessed in Anantnag with National Conference candidate and former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi defeating former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
The assailants fired upon Javeed Ahmad Dar near his residence at Brazloo Jageer area of the south Kashmir district at around 4.30 pm, officials said.
With uncertainty looming large over the continuance of Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said his party is ready to consider a tie-up with the saffron party for government formation if such an offer is received.
Independent candidates have emerged as big winners in Jammu and Kashmir's maiden District Development Council polls, with 49 of them having been declared elected so far from 280 seats, putting them ahead of parties like the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The date for the oath ceremony of the new cabinet was decided after deliberations between the leadership of both the parties.
Dozens of vehicles, with the tricolor hoisted on each of them, were part of the rally which passed through Gupkar Road and the activists raised slogans outside the residences of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti there.
With no agenda announced for the meeting, the leaders from Jammu and Kashmir said they have come with an open mind.
The protesters first assembled at the Sheikhpora area of Budgam district, in central Kashmir, and then tried to proceed towards the airport but were stopped by a posse of police personnel, they said.
