BJP wants governor's rule to continue in Kashmir: Ram Madhav
Srinagar, July 7 : BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday ruled out any possibility of the BJP stitching an alliance with disgruntled PDP legislators to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We are for continuing with Governor's Rule in the interest of peace, governance and development in the state," Madhav tweeted.
Madhav's remarks came amid speculation that the BJP and its partner, former secessionist Sajad Lone's Peoples Conference, were engineering a political coup in the PDP and get support of its rebel MLAs.
At least five rebel PDP lawmakers in the state have openly spoken against former Chief Minister and party President Mehbooba Mufti.
With speculation of a new political alignment flying thick and fast, former Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah in a tweet asked Madhav about reports that the BJP's state had confessed to being party to the efforts to break the BJP.
"Power at any cost would seem to be the guiding philosophy," Abdullah took a jibe at Madhav and the BJP.
In response, Madhav wrote it was "not true".
"I will certainly check with the state unit and ensure that the BJP keeps itself scrupulously out of whatever is happening in other parties in the valley."
Mathematical arrangements in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly are stacked in no party's favour.
In the house, which has been kept under suspended animation, the PDP has 28 MLAs. The BJP has 25 and enjoys support of two legislators from Sajad Lone-led Peoples Conference and one legislator from Ladakh.
For any party to stake claim to form a government, it would require support of 44 lawmakers.
The state's anti-defection law is tougher as compared to others. The number of legislators who defect from a party without being disqualified should be two-third of the party's total strength in the House.
In such a situation, the number of those walking out of the PDP need to be at least 18 to avoid disqualification.
Also, the anti-defection law also empowers House leader of a legislative party a final say about disqualifying the defectors. The speaker cannot challenge the decision.
But it is the speaker who notifies and issues a bulletin disqualifying the members.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
