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Basharat Peer in Srinagar
As the Congress-Peoples Democratic Party tussle over who will be the next J&K chief minister shows no signs of abating, Kashmir is abuzz with speculations about governor's rule in the state.
Tuesday, the PDP made it clear that it must lead a coalition with the Congress.
Using the logic of being the caretaker of regional aspirations, PDP chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said: "PDP being a regional party will be able to deliver more than the Congress, which has constraints being a national party."
But it is the national character of the Congress which its state unit chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad, sees as its advantage apart from its numerical superiority.
"Our party president made it clear to the PDP president in Delhi that the Congress must be given a chance to lead the coalition. The reason is that if we have a Congress CM in J&K, he will carry more weight nationally and internationally," Azad said.
The Congress also does not agree with the PDP president's assertion that if governor's rule is imposed in J&K the Congress would have to take the blame for it.
"We are the No 2 party. If the National Conference does stake claim to form a government, it is natural that we will. Now, it is for the PDP to decided if it wants to support us or no," he said.
The constitutional deadline for the formation of a new government in Jammu and Kashmir expires on October 17.
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