Mehbooba Mufti claims support of 55 MLAs in Jammu and Kashmir

PDP leader Mehbooba MuftiPDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday claimed support of 55 legislators in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after her meeting with Governor N.N. Vohra.

Mehbooba Mufti met the governor at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Wednesday morning to discuss the formation of the government in the state more than a week after Assembly election results threw a fractured verdict even as her father and party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed continued consultations within the party.

Mehbooba Mufti told the media: "We have support of 55 MLAs in the state. But it is our intention and effort that a stable government is formed here to address the huge problems faced by the people in the state.

"We want that the agenda of development and peace should be carried forward. We want Atal Bihari Vajpayee's peace process be carried to its logical conclusion."

She, however, did not clearly specify a PDP-BJP alliance in the state.

The Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict with the PDP emerging as the single-largest party with 28 seats in the 87-member lower house. BJP emerged as the second-largest party with 25 seats followed by National Conference at 15 and Congress with 12. Smaller parties and independents won seven seats.

So far no single party, or combination of parties, have staked a claim for formation of the government. The PDP is holding intra-party discussions on possible alliances which the party can enter into to form the next government. An elected government has to be put in place by January 19, failing which the Governor's rule will be imposed in the state.