State BJP leaders are in a wait-and-watch mode as the formation of government in the state now seems to be a matter between the Centre and Mehbooba.
The state BJP leaders are now waiting for their high command to rescue them by reaching out to PDP president Mehboooba Mufti, who has asked the Centre to go in for confidence-building measures to give fillip to the new government.
The BJP had sought 10 days from Governor NN Vohra yesterday to disclose their plan on government formation. Today, the BJP leaders avoided the media .There was no meeting of the BJP leaders today giving an impression that they are waiting for the Centre to tell them how to move about on the government formation. As of now they are clueless.
The BJP high command has also not told them to do anything.
While Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti presided over the meeting of senior party leaders today, most of the high-profile BJP leaders were either unavailable or remained “out of reach” for media.
A couple of leaders, when contacted, refrained from giving any statement saying “they are not authorised” to speak apparently giving a reason to believe that it would be finally PDP chief Mehbooba and Central BJP leaders like national president Amit Shah, national general secretary Ram Madhav, state in charge Avinash Rai Khanna who are likely to announce decision on the government formation.
Mehbooba Mufti is expected to fly to Delhi on February 7 to meet the Central BJP leadership.
State Legislative Assembly Speaker and BJP MLA Kavinder Gupta, who holds the constitutional post, despite the suspended animation, however, expressed his views for early restoration of the popular government.
“Common peoples’ choice, who voted these parties into power, is for a popular government. Sooner the democratic process of the state comes into the effect, better it will be for the people of the state,” said Kavinder Gupta, while talking to KP.
Kavinder also had attended the BJP party meeting held yesterday under the leadership of Ashok Koul, BJP secretary (organisation).
“It was not an official meeting of the coalition party in the government as the government is in suspended animation,” he clarified.
With one day lost and remaining nine more to go for the BJP to discuss government formation modalities with the PDP, the people here are of view that the party must be waiting for some Central leader to arrive in Jammu to take decision on the government formation.
“The Central leadership has entrusted us with going ahead for all measures and there is no feeding from them. We will decide on our own for the government formation,” MP and senior BJP leader Jugal Kishore Sharma had said to KP minutes before entering Raj Bhawan to meet Governor NN Vohra on February 2.
State BJP clueless, awaits word from Centre
