Srinagar, October 10
Having routed the rule of the Sheikh dynasty, a coalition government of the Congress and the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is likely to be installed in Jammu and Kashmir next week.
Some other parties, including the J&K National Panthers Party of Mr Bhim Singh and a couple of Independents, are expected to support the coalition government.
Dr Farooq Abdullah announced that the National Conference would not stake the claim for forming the new government because the verdict was against the party.
The PCC chief, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, and the PDP chief, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, told this correspondent that the question of who would be the Chief Minister would not be a problem because “we have achieved the bigger goal of throwing out the corrupt and inefficient” government of Dr Abdullah.
There was an atmosphere of jubilation at the residence of Mr Mufti where hundreds of his party supporters had gathered. Mr Azad left for Jammu where he will meet newly elected legislators, including the Independents.
The Election Commission is scheduled to issue the formal notification of the results tomorrow or the day after to set the ball rolling for the formation of the new government.
It is after 27 years that the state is heading for a non-National Conference government. The Congress itself had installed Sheikh Abdullah as Chief Minister in 1975 following the accord signed between the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah, although the Congress was in absolute majority in the Assembly. Mufti Sayeed was also a minister in the Congress government which handed over the reins to Sheikh Abdullah on a platter.
The mood of the people here following the ouster of the National Conference government is of jubilation. An elderly person, Mr Ali Mohammed, said the “corrupt” government had at last been thrown out. They did nothing for the common people and only the interests of their kith and kin were watched. The bungalows of ministers of the NC government are lying deserted now.
It is learnt that the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is in constant touch with Mr Azad and Mr Mufti. She is likely to discuss the issue of government formation with the two leaders soon.
Sources said Mr Bhim Singh
met Mrs Gandhi in Delhi yesterday and discussed the political scene that was expected to emerge.A group of Independents has already announced that it would in no case support the National Conference for forming the government.
The defeat of Mr Omar Abdullah, Minister of State for External Affairs, who was projected as the next Chief Minister, has come as a surprise. The younger brother of Dr Abdullah, Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, who is a minister, has also been defeated. This indicates the level of anger which the people have against the Abdullah rule.
Mr Azad refused to name who would be the new Chief Minister although he was projected for this slot in the campaign by senior leaders of the party. Mr Azad belongs to the Kishtwar area of Jammu and it will be for the first time that the Chief Minister will be from Jammu if the choice came on him.
Mr Azad said the issue would be decided by the coalition partners because the Congress on its own was not in a position to form the government.
Mr Mufti and Mr Azad said the topmost task before them would be to restore peace in this trouble-torn state and tackle corruption with a firm hand. Stress would be laid on removing fear from the minds of the people so that they came forward to invest in industry so that avenues of employment were created.
Mr Mufti said that the PDP contributed significantly by providing the alternative of a regional party which helped in the defeat of National Conference.
He said the election results could be a turning point in the history of the turmoiled state if the Centre understood the verdict and initiated negotiations with the elected representatives to find a solution to the Kashmir problem. The militants could be put on the defensive in case the Centre ordered a ceasefire and begins the talks. The matter could be discussed with Pakistan or any party later.
He said the defeat of big guns like Mr Omar Abdullah, Mustafa Kamal and Mr Mohammed Shaffi Uri, had sent the bold message that running the government was not the monopoly of a single family. It had also indicated that if a person did not deliver the goods, he had to go. The people had ventilated their anger by throwing the Farooq government out of power.
Mr Mufti said that it was a challenging job for the new government as it had to undertake the gigantic task of reconstruction of the state. A healing touch has to be provided to the people who have been affected by the 13 years of militancy.
A senior leader of the NC, Mr Sharief-ud-Din, said it was time for introspection for the party.
