BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said Sunday his party will form a “stable government with some friends” in Jammu and Kashmir after the Assembly elections in the state.
Speaking to the media in Jammu, Madhav said, “The BJP will emerge the largest party after the elections and we promise people to give a stable government with some friends.”
“Though there is least possibility of our having any pre-poll alliance as we will be contesting on almost all the seats, we, in view of special circumstances in the state, have no hesitation in taking along others as well,” he added.
He said that even in the 2014 elections, the BJP had “gone alone”, and had later entered into an alliance with Sajad Lone’s People’s Conference.
Madhav said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s February 3 visit to the state will kickstart the BJP’s campaign for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. He added that it was for the Election Commission to decide whether the two polls are to be held together or separately in the state, dismissing allegations that the BJP did not want the state Assembly polls to be held.
Madhav also refused to comment on former minister Altaf Bukhari’s expulsion from the PDP, but said, “I must underscore one point here, that he is the same leader who was projected as the chief minister of the combined opposition when they (the PDP, Congress and National Conference) were trying to form the government in the state just a couple of months ago.”
Speaking on a proposal for separate townships for rehabilitation of migrant Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, Madhav said, “When we (the BJP) formed the government in the state (with the PDP), we had a roadmap for them…We had tried to set up townships for Kashmiri Pandits at five or six places in the Valley and it goes to the credit of the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government that those places were also identified.”
There could not be further progress in the matter due to many reasons mainly because of the prevailing security situation, he said. “However, we are committed to safeguard their political rights and other rights… Roadmap is there for having townships at five or six places and we will move ahead after discussions with the Kashmiri Pandit leadership,” Madhav said.
When asked about the Opposition’s rally in Kolkata on Saturday, Madhav said they were trying to save themselves.
“It happens in a democracy, but we are ready for the fight,” he said.
