The Bharatiya Janata Party made it clear on Thursday that it will go with the People's Democratic Party's choice for the post of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, clearing the decks for Mehbooba Mufti to take over the reins of the state following her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's death.
"It is for the PDP to decide who will be their leader," BJP vice president and its Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna said when asked about his party's stand on Mehbooba succeeding her father.
"Our alliance is with the PDP," Rai added, indicating it was the coalition’s senior ally’s prerogative to choose the leader for the top job.
Mehbooba, 56, who is PDP’s president, has had her share of detractors in the saffron ranks for several reasons, including her passionate espousal of her party's 'self-rule' concept, which used to be dubbed 'as soft separatism' by many in the BJP.
Sources said the sudden death of Sayeed leaves the BJP with little choice but to go with his obvious successor.
"It was one thing for her to take over from her father when he was still around and totally another when he is gone. She is the obvious choice," they said, adding that both parties had invested a lot in bringing about an alliance that was seen as improbable.
PDP leaders have thrown their weight behind Mehbooba following her father’s death.
Sayeed, who crafted an unlikely alliance with the BJP, helping it share power for the first time in the state, died after a brief illness.
With the BJP giving clear signals for Mehbooba’s elevation to the coveted post, the mother to two daughters, is all set to become the first woman chief minister of the state.
In the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly, the PDP won 28 seats and the BJP 25, while opposition National Conference got 15 and the Congress 12.
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