Reluctant parties led to Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi/Srinagar: An official statement issued Friday evening in Jammu said that in the past two weeks the governor held consultations with the PDP and BJP leaderships. However, no party or group of parties had so far staked claim to form the next government in the state.

After Mr Omar Abdullah requested that he be relieved as caretaker CM, the governor was of the view that since none of the political parties had so far staked claim to form government, the governance of the state cannot be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the State, the statement said.

The new government is required to be constituted before January 19, when the term of the current Assembly expires. However, Mr Abdullah’s decision appears to have prompted governor N.N. Vohra to send a report to the Union home ministry stating that Mr Abdullah had requested to be relieved of the post of caretaker CM.

President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the governor’s report.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh had Thursday night forwarded the governor’s report to the Prime Minister’s Office. The governor’s report contained some suggestions, including the option of imposition of Governor’s Rule as no party had got the numbers required to form government after the fractured verdict in the Assembly election, official sources said in New Delhi.

Read: NC and PDP in blame game over Governor’s rule in J-K

It may be recalled that after the election results were out on December 23, neither the PDP, which emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats, nor the BJP with 25 seats could get the magic figure of 44 to stake claim to form government. The NC has 15 MLAs and the Congress 12.

BJP President Amit Shah had said in Vijayawada that his party was in talks with both the PDP and the NC to form the next government in J&K. "Our talks are going on with the two parties in Kashmir... We are trying to form a BJP government in the state," he said.

Mr Omar Abdullah had said the state needed a full-time administrator to deal with the situation along the border with Pakistan and to provide relief to flood-affected people in the Kashmir Valley. He was asked to continue as caretaker CM on December 24 after his resignation in the wake of his party’s defeat.

Attacking the PDP, Mr Abdullah tweeted: "It’s been months since the state had a full-fledged administration and the people can’t wait for Mufti Sayeed to negotiate his six-year term." In an earlier tweet, he said, "I’m sorry after an election with such a good turnout we have a situation of Governor’s Rule but as I’ve maintained the onus lies with JKPDP."

Read: Omar Abdullah decides to step down as caretaker Chief Minister of J-K

Earlier reports had suggested that one of the issues over which the informal PDP-BJP talks on cobbling up an alliance towards government formation had been deadlocked was the latter’s insistence that the state should have a rotational CM from the two parties for three years each.

To a question on the possibility of fresh elections, PDP chief spokesman Naeem Akhtar said, "We will discuss the situation if it comes to that", while the NC’s Junaid Azim Mattu said it would be an "undesirable eventuality" and "injustice" to the voters.

The NC also reiterated its "unconditional" support to the PDP for government formation to avoid fresh polls. The PDP chief spokesman also said it was not just the BJP that they were holding talks with and that they want a stable government.