Fractured mandate: Easy for PDP to ally with Congress than BJP, says Muzaffar Baig

Srinagar, Dec 23: 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 here today.

"It will be easier for PDP and Congress to come together then for PDP and BJP to come together because with Congress we had a common minimum programme and it will be easier," Baig said. He said that PDP's experience has shown that a coalition can be successful only when there is a common minimum programme.

Baig refused to divulge details of the common minimum programme saying that it would be worked out with its ally. He, however, did not rule out engagement with BJP.

"If the (elected) MLAs suggest that going with BJP will be more beneficial for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, of course their point of view will be taken seriously.

"But it will depend on the collective decision," Baig said, adding PDP leaders will meet to decide on the coalition. PDP chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said engagement with BJP is inevitable. "Engagement is inevitable because they are the ruling party at the Centre. They have emerged as a political force within the state. "Engagement is on. But whether that translates into government formation is a different thing," Akhtar said.

PTI