File photo: PDP's Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Two months after the elections results, Jammu and Kashmir is set for a coalition government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and BJP. Sources say that the two parties have finally found consensus on the issues that have ideologically divided them for decades.
BJP president Amit Shah is likely to meet PDP chief Mehboob Mufti today before the two parties make an announcement. PDP sources say the new government will be sworn-in on March 1 and is likely to be headed by the party's patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The two parties have carefully negotiated the Common Minimum Programme of their proposed alliance which Mr Sayeed says brings together the "North Pole and the South Pole" in an interview to NDTV.
Sources say Mr Sayeed will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday after which the CMP will be released. Titled 'Agenda of the Alliance', the document will focus on governance and won't be a political alliance, sources said. They added that the CMP signed by both the parties is pragmatic and takes into consideration the political constraints.
Mr Mufti appears to have got his way with the PDP's key demand - the sanctity of Article 370. The PDP had demanded a written assurance that the present constitutional status of the state be maintained.
Sources confirm that the BJP and the PDP have agreed on the language that reinforces this formula. The BJP's manifesto has spoken of the abrogation of the article that gives the state its special position in the Indian Union.
However, the softening of the BJP on this key agenda was evident in the assembly elections when none of its leaders even mentioned it in campaign speeches. On the more contentious issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), sources say both parties have agreed on a formula that allows a gradual reduction of military presence in the state and the Army being replaced by the local police in areas where the security situation has improved.
The PDP's other key demands have included a reconciliation process with Pakistan and a dialogue with the Hurriyat.
In the Assembly polls held in December last year, PDP emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats while BJP got 25 seats in the 87-member House.