PDP leader confirms alliance with NC, Congress to form government in J&K

Senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari has confirmed that his party will get into an alliance with the National Conference and the Congress.

PDP leader confirms alliance with NC, Congress to form government in J&K Pic Courtesy: ANI

Senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari has confirmed that his party will get into an alliance with the National Conference and the Congress to form government in Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking to mediapersons, the PDP leader said, “Very soon you will get a good news.”

"My leadership has confirmed it to us that the three parties (Congress, PDP and NC) have agreed to make a coalition to defend the special identity of the state politically and legally. Very soon you will get a good news," said Bukhari.

The PDP leader claimed that the alliance would have support of 60 MLAs in the state Assembly.

Currently, the PDP has 28 MLAs in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly while the National Conference and the Congress have 15 and 12 MLAs, respectively.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 25 MLAs while there are 7 independents in the J&K Assembly.

The statement by the PDP leader comes hours after senior Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the parties were only discussing the possibility of the alliance.

Azad said, "All parties thinking on the possibility of joining hands and forming a government in the state. For now, it is being deliberated upon just as a suggestion and not with a view to forming the government."

Sources in the National Conference have, however, said that they were not interested in joining a coalition government but would not be averse to giving outside support to a PDP-Congress coalition.

J&K is currently under Governor's rule which cannot be extended after it completes its six-month period on December 19. The government led by Peoples Democratic Party's Mehbooba Mufti fell when its partner BJP pulled out of the ruling coalition on June 16.

Notably, the National Conference had offered its support to the PDP after the previous Assembly polls but the latter ignored the offer and aligned with the BJP.