J&K election: Is National Conference taking the 'Vajpayee route' to seal a deal with BJP?

Is the National Conference (NC) tilting in favour of the BJP after reading the writing on the wall in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election? As per the latest trends, the ruling party was trailing behind the BJP, regional rivals People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Congress and one would not be surprised if the Abdullahs decided to take a U-turn to join the BJP, the party which they have been criticising all through, to continue in power even as a junior partner of the saffron party.

The speculation was made all the more rife by Jammu and Kashmir's outgoing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah two days ago when he tweeted saying: "I wish the UPA govt had risen above politics & conferred the Bharat Ratna on Vajpayee sahib, would have been a fitting gesture."

Is NC preparing grounds for getting close to BJP?

The leader later said that a tweet doesn't determine a political alliance but that hasn't stopped the observers speculating on his party's move after the results are declared on December 23. Abdullah had served as a minister in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first BJP prime minister, and according to political experts, the NC leader is preparing grounds for a rapprochement with the BJP after predicting a poor result for his own party and to keep the PDP, which was leading the trend, out of power.

The NC will look to keep PDP out power by joining hands with BJP

The two regional parties in Jammu and Kashmir have traditionally joined hands with either of the two national parties depending on the number of seats they have bagged. There is no exception this time as well. It seems both the NC and PDP will be in race to join hands with the BJP for it is the saffron party which is the flavour of this election season.

In the recent past, Telugu Desam Party leader Chandrababu Naidu and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan were seen praising Modi's leadership after the man's rise in Indian politics became prominent. Is the same story unfolding for Abdullah, who till the other day was critical of Modi and his party?