NC emerges single-largest party in J-K, may form coalition

Srinagar, Dec 28 (PTI) A resurgent National Conference
Sunday emerged the single-largest party in a hung Assembly in
Jammu and Kashmir and is all poised to stake claim for forming
the next government with Congress support.

NC, which has got 28 seats, exactly the same number it
had in the dissolved Assembly, said it will approach "like
minded" Congress, which bagged 17 seats, for forming the next
government after the five-week seven-phased polls that
recorded a high 61 per cent turn-out defying separatists'
boycott calls and militant guns. Congress lost three seats.

Back-channel talks have already begun between the two
parties, sources said, adding Congress general secretary Rahul
Gandhi, who is said to have good equations with Omar, is
expected to play a key role in forging a partnership.

An NC-Congress combine can cross the magic half-way
mark of 44 in a House of 87 but there there are six
independents besides the three-member Panthers Party from whom
it could also count on for support.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP), which shared power
with Congress on a rotational basis for last six years, came
second with a tally of 21 seats, a gain of five over the 2002
elections.

Cashing in on the Amarnath land row, the Bhartiya
Janata Party (BJP) put up an impressive performance clinching
11 of the 37 seats at stake in Jammu region. The saffron party
had only one seat in the last Assembly. The CPI-M could only
win one of the two seats it had.

38-year-old Omar Abdullah, the scion of the Abdullah
family, who steered NC for a shot at power, said his party
would approach the Congress for forming the next government.

"Clearly, Congress is the most like-minded party to NC
and we will apporach them the moment we emerge the single
largest party," said Omar, who made his debut to the state
Assembly winning the Ganderbal seat, which he had lost in
2002.

Congress gave the first signs of a possible support to
a NC government when Union minister Prithviraj Chauhan, who
was the Congress observer in Jammu, said the party was only
interested in giving the "most stable government" even if it
meant staying outside power.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi
Azad is believed to be keen on a tie-up with NC apparently
because of bitter experience with PDP which pulled out of the
coalition government forcing him to resign.

Omar's father and NC patron Farooq Abdullah virtually
paved the way for his son to assume the top post when he shot
back, "why not" when asked if the young leader could become
the chief minister. Farooq, who won from both Hazratbal and
Sonawar constituencies, said he would rather prefer to sit in
Parliament and dismissed reports of differences with his son.
Farooq is a member of Rajya Sabha.

Omar had also told reporters that Farooq was also
projected as the chief ministerial candidate but the former
chief minister had expressed reservations about heading a
coalition government.

Former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad won the election
from Baderwah.

Out of 46 seats at stake in Kashmir valley, NC got 20, a
gain of two seats, while PDP bagged 19, an addition of three.
Congress lost two seats to have a tally of three.

In the Jammu region which has 37 seats in all, the BJP
got 11 as against one it had while the Congress lost two to
notch a score of 13. NC got six seats losing three while PDP
opened its account bagging two seats.

In Ladakh, where four seats were up for grabs, NC got
two, one more than it got in 2002 and Congress gained one.

The NC made a clean sweep of the eight constituencies in
Srinagar. Considered to be stronghold of separatists, the city
recorded 20 per cent polling in the final phase of elections
held on December 24. In 2002 elections, NC had bagged five
city seats while two went to Independents and another was won
by the Congress.

The PDP suffered a shock defeat in Batmaloo constituency
where its former minister and general secretary Tariq Hameed
Karra lost to Irfan Shah of NC by a margin of 2,500 votes.

PDP made a clean sweep of Pulwama and Shopian districts
winning all the six seats (four in Pulwama and two in Shopian)
and also did well in Anantnag and Kulgam districts
winning six of the ten seats.

The most important victory of PDP came from Anantnag from
where party patron and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed was elected for the first time. Sayeed, who entered the
state assembly through bypoll held in 2004 from Pahalgam
constituency, vacated by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti after her
election to Lok Sabha, shifted to Anantnag this time and
defeated NC provincial president Mehboob Beg.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti won from Wachi and her
father and party patron Mufti Sayeed bagged the Anantnag seat.

State Secretary of CPI(M) M Y Tarigami managed to retain
Kulgam after a tough fight with the PDP nominee. PTI