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| Delay in Modi-Mehbooba talks may prove fatal for alliance | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Mar 13: Persistent delay in the much-expected talks between Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is dimming the prospects of government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi's one-on-one with Mehbooba was being considered crucial for government formation in the state that too when the PDP has categorically said that it would consider continuation of alliance with the rightwing party only if the center announces "tangible CBMs." A similar development had taken place in February last year when Mufti Muhammad Sayeed had met Modi before the oath taking on March 1, 2015.
But this time, the suspense over talks continues despite the fact that the BJP senior leader and point man on Kashmir Ram Madhav is understood to have told PDP leadership that Modi was personally interested to end deadlock through government formation.
Even though, the BJP has been "religiously pursuing the case of government formation in the state" and several top leaders called on Mehbooba, Modi's role remains conspicuously invisible.
This is despite the fact the Mehbooba, who is also MP from south Kashmir, visited atleast twice, the national capital in connection with the Parliament session there.
Sources said hopes were high among leaders of both the parties that Mehbooba would meet Modi to finalize the modalities of government formation without any further delay.
They said though some senior BJP leaders and a union minister held closed-door meetings with her there, a direct talk with the Prime Minister, whose word or commitment over CBMs could prove most promising is yet to arrive.
PDP insiders said, to end the stalemate, the party had been optimistic of direct talks between Modi and Mehbooba.
But since January 7, when the then Chief Minister, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed died in the national capital, the interaction between the two is awaited. The last time, the duo came face-to-face was at the Delhi airport when Mufti's body was being flown back to Kashmir and Modi arrived at the runway to pay his homage to the departed soul.
After over the month-long silence over PDP-BJP relationship, a ray of hope had emerged, after Mufti's Chehlum, the 40-day morning, on February 18 when Ram Madhav had secret talks with Mehbooba at her Fairview residence here.
It was reliably learnt that Madhav told Mehbooba that he had come to meet her on behalf of the BJP top brass particularly Modi. While the two-hour meeting had remained fruitful, within a week Mehbooba and some other PDP leaders had left for New Delhi.
"We were hopeful that the high level talks would take place but nothing of this sort happened till now and it appears that the center is not serious towards our genuine concerns," said a PDP leader asking not to be named.
Observers believe that with each passing day, the BJP is losing the chance to rule the state where its previous 10-month stint remained allegedly disastrous.
"The BJP leadership miserably failed to come up to the expectations of the people of Jammu who voted them to power… The second innings could have given them another chance to correct the wrongs but now they seem to be losing it again," said a political analyst from Jammu.
But a BJP leader told Early Times that the talks were still on. "We are hopeful that the stalemate will end soon but the first step with regard to demands is to be taken by them PDP, because it is they who want CBMs," the BJP leader said.
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