Mehbooba to meet senior PDP leaders over J-K Govt. formation

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday will chair the first formal party meeting, expectedly to discuss the future course of action and ties with ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the state government formation.

This is the first time that the PDP is meeting to discuss government formation ever since the death of then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under President's rule since January 9 as neither PDP nor their ally in power BJP has staked claimed for forming the state government.

The meeting has been called against the backdrop of reports that Mehbooba is unhappy over a variety of issues with BJP, a party with which Mufti ran a coalition government for 10 months after tying up in the wake of a hung verdict in assembly elections.

The Jammu and Kashmir legislative Assembly constitutes of 87-member assembly, PDP has 27 MLAs while BJP has 25 legislators.

The BJP had earlier said that the PDP has to make the first move by electing its legislature party leader before they can extend support to the regional party for government formation in the state.