When the National Conference and the Congress leadership formally sit down to discuss a coalition government for Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow, they will begin on a positive note: the young heir of Gandhi family Rahul Gandhi and scion of the Abdullah clan Omar Abdullah share an alliance of friendship and have been in constant touch since the fragmented verdict was out last evening.

Sources reveal that one main reason for the last-minute “generational shift” in the NC’s Chief Ministerial candidate — replacing Farooq Abdullah by son Omar — was to “smoothen” the coalition talks. With the Congress high command, Omar Abdullah is the preferred choice for more than one reason. Sources said the father Abdullah does not share a “comfortable relationship” with 10 Janpath while the sons and heirs of the two families are close.

Asked whether his friendship with Rahul will play a role in the NC-Congress coalition, Omar Abdullah told The Indian Express: “I will not use my friendship with Rahul or my equation with him to force a situation which otherwise will not arise. I am not hassling him with messages or talking to him to push our coalition with the Congress”. He, however, said that “the fact of the matter is that he (Rahul) is a senior general secretary and the future of Congress and my personal equation with him will necessarily smoothen the channels of communication (between NC and Congress)”.

But there is no bypassing the proper channels, he said. “It is not in my nature to go to the top. We are taking proper channels to discuss the alliance,” he said. “We are meeting Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi tomorrow”.

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