Late on Sunday night, NC president Omar Abdullah was being tipped to be the next Chief Minister, even though his father, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, had made a statement that appeared to queer the pitch somewhat. In an indication of a simmering cold war between father and son, the senior Abdullah told a TV channel that he would be the NC’s chief ministerial candidate, retracting from a statement made earlier in the day, that his son would lead the new government.

The PDP is reconciled to sitting in the opposition. Soon after the trends became clear, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said, “If there is no agreement on any programme, we will prefer to sit in opposition,” hinting towards the difficulty in forming a coalition. Omar Abdullah on the other hand, has shown his keenness to have the Congress as an alliance partner.

The unprecedented peaceful and popular elections have thrown extraordinary challenges before the potential coalition partners. The task is more difficult than in 1987 when the two parties came together — mainly because the 2008 elections have been free and fair and are thus credible, and the winners therefore, carry a greater burden of expectation.

Today’s verdict has also given rise to apprehensions of polarization of J&K along communal lines. It has pitted political ideologies revolving around the future of Jammu’s Hindu heartland in potentially direct confrontation with the Kashmir valley and Muslim-dominated districts of Jammu.

For the first time since the emergence of separatist militancy in Kashmir, Jammu’s Hindu-dominated districts have voted massively for the BJP. The clear message is in favour of BJP politics that includes the scrapping of special status and Article 370. The BJP has replaced the Congress at nine seats and the NC at one, and retained Nagrota.

... contd.