PDP has not set any conditions for BJP: Nirmal Singh

But Mehbooba had reportedly said that she will not take oath till the end of mourning period for her father, which ended yesterday. Since BJP did not convey its stand, Governor’s Rule was forced in the state. The state mourning ends on Wednesday.

With an unease creeping into both sides on the terms of engagement of the alliance with Mehbooba at the helm in government, the BJP does not want to open its cards yet on the issue, sources said. A deliberation of that nature is yet to happen.

“She did not go beyond accepting condolences and expressing gratitude to (home minister) Rajnath Singh, (toad transport and highways minister) Nitin Gadkari, (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi and (former chief minister) Ghulam Nabi Azad (for calling on her)”, a source close to her said. A Sangh leader indicated the BJPPDP alliance came up for discussion during the RSS coordination meeting at Jalgaon in Maharashtra last week and it was agreed to persevere with the coalition.

Congress has earlier shared power with PDP from 2002 to 2008, with both parties having their chief minister on rotational basis.

Even before that, Mehbooba Mufti had been a great emotional support for her father.

The Congress has, however, maintained that it was not a political visit.

The reason for that, if not anything else, lay in the composition of state assembly and the kind of mandate the people in the state gave in winter of 2014. They argue that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had a long association with Congress dating back to 1960s so much so that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had visited Muftis at their ancestral house in Bijbehara indicating the relations between the two families. The BJP had captured 25 seats.

“We don’t see any sign from PDP where we could think that PDP would gowith any other party”.

“Many point out a contrasting political picture in the manner in which Congress and BJP establishment respectively handled “the seniority of sensibilities” vis a vis the Muftis”. We are in favour of continuing that arrangement for the larger benefit of the state. A new combination, a new government can be formed given the situation today.

“We’ll stick to agenda of alliance in letter and spirit”, Beg added on future of coalition government with BJP in J&K. That would also defy the spirit of the mandate – negation of Jammu region.

Speculations are rife that all is not well in the coalition with the PDP leadership upset at the right-wing party after its local and a section at national leaders started talking of a fresh bargain which has driven fissures in the coalition.