Congress, PDP and NC to align, form next government in Jammu & Kashmir

The Congress, the People's Democratic Party, and the National Conference are in talks to form a coalition and the next government in Jammu & Kashmir, news reports said Wednesday. 

Top sources told WION that the idea was to form a government, then dissolve the house in a couple of months and go in for fresh elections. 

Jammu and Kashmir has been under Governor's Rule since June 19 when the BJP pulled out of a coalition government with the PDP. Governor's Rule comes to an end next month on December 19. 

The fast-paced developments in Kashmir were spurred after senior PDP leader Muzaffar Baig said yesterday that he was ready to join the third front.
 
There are currently multiple meetings underway both in Jammu and Srinagar.

Senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari meanwhile has met with Omar Abdullah to discuss a plan of action. 

Abdullah meanwhile tweeted Wednesday that "Whoever said 'may you live in interesting times' knew what they were talking about'.  

ANI quoted Bukhari as saying "my leadership has confirmed it to us that the three parties (Congress, PDP and NC) have agreed to make a coalition to defend the special identity of the state politically and legally. Very soon you will get a good news."  

News reports Wednesday said Bukhari was emerging as the chief ministerial face of the grand coalition. 

The reports added that the leaders of the three parties would meet with Governor Satyapal Malik on Thursday. 

The PDP has 29 MLAs in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly, the Congress has 12 and the National Conference has 15, putting them well ahead of the halfway mark of 44. 

The news reports Wednesday added that should the grand coalition come into effect, it could also serve as a template for the possible BJP vs The Rest battle in the 2019 elections.