news details |
|
|
| BJP's efforts to form coalition govt are doomed to fail | | Dissolution of assembly imminent | | Early Times Report
Jammu, July 5: Leave aside the "power-hungry" BJP, all the other three major players - the PDP, the NC and the Congress - have almost raised their hands and have expressed themselves in favour of fresh elections. The stand of the NC has been consistent since June 20, when the state was brought under the Governor's rule following withdrawal of support to the PDP by the BJP high command at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NC has been saying again and again that it was against horse-trading and for the dissolution of the assembly and fresh elections. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah both have said so umpteen times.
The Congress also made it loud and clear that the situation in the state is such as warranted fresh elections so that the people elect a government of their own choice. The Congress, in fact, overruled the possibility of any tie up with the PDP during its two-day long meeting, which took place in Srinagar on July 3 and 4.
The story of the PDP is no different. In fact, its position is very precarious. It is in a deep crisis. Many MLAs have revolted against PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti. There is the possibility of 14 MLAs quitting the PDP to form a separate block.
But to say that they would join hands with the BJP to form a coalition government would be too much. There is hardly any MLA in Kashmir who would want to come close to the BJP given the nature of constituency they represent in Kashmir. Leave aside People's Conference of Sajjad Lone, which has 2 MLAs. The BJP, the would be break-away group of the PDP and People's Conference can not form government even if they joined hands because they need 44 seats in the 87-member House. The BJP has 25 MLAs, the break away PDP group may have 14 and the PC has two. In other words, they together would have 41 seats.
The Congress and the NC are unlikely to split. J&K has stringent anti-defection law, which is different from the central law. Constitutional experts say that "if one or few legislators leave a party than the Speaker has the power to dismiss them as per the law". "However, if there is a split in the party, which is 50% of the legislators leave, the law does not apply," they also say. The 13th amendment to the constitution of J&K was enacted in 2005-06 when Ghulam Nabi Azad was CM.
It is a different story that former deputy CM and senior state BJP leader Kavinder Gupta has been stating that his party is exploring the possibility of forming a government with "like-minded legislators" probably after the culmination of Amarnath pilgrimage next month. It appears that the BJP has not studied the anti-defection law. The BJP is simply exposing itself by saying what it has been saying about the government formation.
The point is the possibility of formation of another coalition government in the state is too remote. On the contrary, there are reasons to believe that the Governor of the state would dissolve the assembly sooner than later as there are people who have started saying that "there is no need to spend crores of rupees on the non-performing 89 MLAs" and that "the Governor must dissolve the assembly and use the saved money for public-utility activities". |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
