5 non-MLAs to decide the fate of 87 MLAs in J&K

JAMMU: The unfolding political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, with the Congress and Peoples'' Democratic Party unable to resolve the ticklish issue of who gets the chief ministership, is increasingly beginning to look like the theatre of the absurd with five non-MLAs presiding over the fate of 87 newly-elected MLAs.
What else explains the fact that the first person to stake claim for forming the government in the state once results were out was none other than Bhim Singh of the Panthers Party (PP) which has only four MLAs in the new House.
Technically, the legislators can decide their destiny by throwing their lot with one or the other candidate for chief ministership but the fractured mandate effectively means it is easier said than done.
The fate of the new MLAs, for all practical purposes, is thus controlled by state Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad, PDP chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, National Conference leaders Omar Abdullah and his father Farooq Abdullah and of course Panthers'' Party chief Bhim Singh.
Incidentally, none of them is a member of assembly. Four of them, namely Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Farooq Abdullah and Bhim Singh had not contested the assembly elections. On the other hand, Omar Abdullah had contested from Ganderbal constituency but lost to his PDP rival.
In fact, Azad and Omar were being projected by their respective parties as their chief ministerial candidates during campaigning but neither of them is an MLA.
"This assembly has thrown many firsts as it is for the first time that a single party has not been given the mandate to govern in J&K. Whoever thus comes to power will have to take the support of other groups for forming the government," noted scholar Balraj Puri said.
Right now, the two main contenders for the top post in the state are Azad and Mufti. If they fail to thrash out the issue between themselves, Omar or Farooq can become the CM.
The decisions taken by non-MLAs like Azad, Mufti, Bhim Singh, Omar and his father have a direct bearing on what happens to the assembly next. These five men, among themselves, can form a government that functions, push the Assembly into suspended animation and even (theoretically this can’t be ruled out) force fresh elections, according to political observers.
Ghulam Nabi Azad took charge of the state Congress rather reluctantly as he has always found national politics more appealing, according to senior party legislators. He has never won a single election from the state till date, they point out.
Claiming that a Kashmiri should be the chief minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has been pushing his claim, saying his party enjoys the widest support among the masses in Kashmir. The fact is that he has never won an Assembly election from the Kashmir valley till date. In 1984, he entered the assembly from R S Pura constituency in the Jammu region.
The R S Pura seat had fallen vacant after Janak Raj Gupta of the Congress was elected to the Lok Sabha by defeating his NC rival. "It is odd that Mufti should try to project himself as leader of the Kashmir valley alone. He was down in the dumps in 1984 when Jammu region breathed life into his sinking political career," a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity, remarked.
As the largest single party, the NC has 28 members in the new House, the Congress is at number two with 20 MLAs and the PDP is the third largest with 16 members.
Since the 28-member NC needs the support of 16 MLAs, the 20-member Congress the support of at least 24 legislators and the PDP no less than 28 legislators of other persuasions to form the government, none of them can afford to either ignore or take those who lend support lightly.