BJP first in 14 years to form single-party govt in Jharkhand

The party fell badly short of 44, the seats needed in the 87-member Kashmir Assembly to form a govt

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) added two more feathers in its cap by getting the numbers to form a government on its own in Jharkhand, the first time in the 14-year history of the state any one party has managed to do so; and becoming the second largest party in Jammu and Kashmir with 25 seats.

The BJP fell badly short of 44, the seats needed in the 87-member Kashmir Assembly to form a government and was unable to win a single seat in the valley (all but one of its candidates lost their deposits in Srinagar). But it achieved the distinction of being the only national party to have won upwards of 20 seats in the Assembly.

The party’s parliamentary board will meet tomorrow to take a view on its alliance partner in Jammu and Kashmir and finalise the name of its chief ministerial candidate in Jharkhand.

In another first, despite a 30% tribal population, the state could get a non-tribal Chief Minister. The name doing the rounds is Raghubar Das, vice president of the state unit of the BJP from Singhbhum who has won the Jamshedpur East seat. Das is from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) caste and is a migrant to Jharkhand.

In Jammu and Kashmir, which gave no party enough seats to form a government on its own, the ball was in the court of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which emerged as the single largest group and is likely to stake claim to form a government.

However, whether it will choose the Congress (against whom it had campaigned using bitter invective) or the BJP, it was not clear. "The trends are showing that we will not be forming a government on our own. It is a difficult situation for us," PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhter said.

Asked about the possibility of an alliance with Congress, Akhter evaded a direct reply but said that the vote was against the national party. In response to another question, the PDP spokesman said there were ideological differences with BJP but he would not comment on a possible alliance with the party.

“It will be easier to come together with Congress than BJP to form government in Jammu and Kashmir,’’ senior PDP leader and MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig said

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti made it clear that her party would take time in deciding its ally."We are not in a hurry to cobble together numbers. Will explore possibilities to give a credible government," said Mehbooba.

Astonishingly, the National Conference (NC) said it would be ready to support the PDP form a government. On a possible alliance with BJP, Abdullah said: “99% no, but there is a crack. If Mufti Mohammad Sayeed calls me to form government, I will consider it.

But as of now there has been no communication from the PDP. With 17 MLAs the NC remains a key player. We are not calling Amit Shah either, but if the phone rings it rings." However, these statements seemed rhetorical rather than serious political moves.

The BJP might have won the assembly election battle but it had to give in to opposition ire and the two houses of Parliament adjourned sine die after repeated disruptions. The otherwise productive winter session of Parliament thus ended today but without passing either the coal bill or the insurance bill which are now tipped to be rolled out through executive order.

Despite being crushed in the assembly polls, the Congress said it would continue to oppose arbitrary parliamentary action by the BJP.