Jammu, October 20
A couple of businessmen from outside the state have reached Srinagar with money bags for helping the National Conference in winning the support of all the Independent candidates besides a faction of the People’s Democratic Party, which has 16 MLAs.

These businessmen are being guided by several senior bureaucrats and confidants of the former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah.

In fact both the Congress and the NC have been “eyeing at least eight to 10 BJP legislators but so far they have not achieved success. After the imposition of Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir on October 17, the National Conference leadership changed its stand and said that its option for forming the government with the support of some Independents was open. A couple of ministers in the erstwhile Farooq-led government have begun using money power and the influence of confidant bureaucrats to win over the support of some PDP MLAs.

Armed with better resources both the Congress and the NC are trying to wean off certain legislators from the PDP.

At present neither the Congress nor the NC can stake claim to form the government without the support of a section of PDP MLAs. There could have been another alternative for the NC to repeat 1987 and join hands with the Congress.

Both the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and the NC supremo, Dr Farooq Abdullah, have expressed opposition to horse trading.

The Congress and the PDP are aware of the potential of the NC in staging a comeback in case there was further delay in the formation of Congress-PDP coalition government.

Indications are that the Congress may ultimately agree to Multi Sayeed heading the coalition government provided the PDP leadership diluted the controversial contents of the poll manifesto. It is in this connection that the Congress team, led by Dr Manmohan Singh, has been assigned the task of debating with the Multi the area where the poll menifesto could be toned down to have a minimum common programme.