A day after the Congress hinted that it was ready to go alone and even sent a feeler to the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party has begun veering around to agree on the formula of alternate Chief Ministers in a coalition government. As to who will lead the government first, this question, PDP insiders said, will be negotiated when party chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed meets Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday. The dramatic turnaround in the PDP’s attitude—which until last night kept saying that it would either head the coalition or sit in Opposition—is because of several factors. Senior Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, are said to have called Mufti to ‘‘soften his stance in the larger interest of not only the nation but that of the two parties as well.’’ ‘‘Mufti Sahib had a conversation with Mehbooba on phone because she is still in Anantnag and asked her to call Sonia Gandhi,’’ a senior leader said. ‘‘This is how the ice was broken.’’ Parallel to the ongoing deadlock, one of the Congress’s most senior state leaders, Ghulam Rasool Kar, who was also the state unit chief floated the idea of an alternative alliance with the National Conference thus sidelining PDP once and for all. The plan—backed by several Congress leaders in the state—was to stake claim and get the NC to abstain during the vote of confidence. This would provide the Congress breathing space and allow it to search for the half-way mark of 44. Kar, considered a close friend of Farooq Abdullah, confirmed this to The Indian Express: ‘‘After the PDP showed rigidity, I told the party leadership that we should seriously consider to secure support from other secular parties, including the National Conference to form the government’’. He said that he approached the NC. ‘‘They too gave a positive response,’’ he said. ‘‘Nobody can doubt Farooq Abdullah’s credentials as a secular leader with very high stature. If he would have supported us, it would have added to the credibility of our government,’’ he said. Kar said that it was this new option that put pressure on the PDP leadership forcing them to climb down. ‘‘When they (PDP) heard that the NC was going to support Congress to form a government, it put a lot of pressure on them which finally led to today’s reconcilatory moves.’’ The PDP leadership also faced a growing resentment within the party legislators. ‘‘We cannot afford to leave our people to Governor’s rule,’’ party leader, Ghulam Hassan Mir said. Mir, who defeated Farooq Abdullah’s brother and former Industries minister Mustafa Kamal by one of the biggest margins in the recent polls, said: ‘‘There certainly was a view within the party that a breakthrough is important.’’ Another senior leader of the party, who sought anonymity, said: ‘‘Leave aside bigger issues like national interest and the interest of our own people, it is in the interest of the two parties.Rotation (of Chief ministership) does not sound nice but one has to make compromises in politics.’’ Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Manmohan Singh, at a morning meeting held to discuss Mehbooba’s renewed offer for talks, said: ‘‘The Congress president has always been in favour of consolidating the mandate of the people to provide a viable and credible alternative to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the state’’. On Mehbooba’s suggestions, Singh said, ‘‘They have made certain suggestions and we also made some suggestions earlier. Now she (Mehbooba) has made some fresh suggestions and we will be discussing all these matters with the PDP when its president arrives here.’’
