National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah insisted on Sunday that his party would form the Jammu and Kashmir government in alliance with the Congress. The remarks came mere hours after exit polls broached the possibility of a hung Assembly while giving a clear lead to the combine. The NC chief also indicated that his party would welcome a coalition with former Gupkar Alliance member PDP.
"..I am confident that NC and Congress will comfortably form the govt. I congratulate them (to PDP if they want to extend their support to our alliance). We all are on the same path, we need to end the hatred and keep Jammu and Kashmir integrated," he said.
The Mehbooba Mufti-led party might find itself playing kingmaker in the northern union territory after exit poll broached the possibility of a hung verdict. Six exit polls suggest that no single party will secure a clear majority. However some placed the Congress-NC combine within reach of the majority mark.
PDP leader Zuhaib Yousuf Mir had earlier hinted at the possibility of an alliance with the Congress and NC in order to keep BJP at bay. The Lal Chowk candidate stressed the need to form a secular government 'against the BJP' on Friday amid exit polls predictions.
"PDP is confident that it will be an indispensable and important part of the secular government that will form in J-K. PDP will have an important role in forming any secular government," Mir had said.
"Congratulations to them, this is a great thing. We are all on the same track, nafrat ko hume khatam karna hai, aur Jammu and Kashmir ko ikhate rakhna hai (we need to end the hatred, and keep Jammu and Kashmir united)," Abdullah told ANI in response.
According to TV-Today C-voter projections, the NC-Congress alliance is likely to win 40-48 seats while the BJP can win 27-32. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party is likely to win 6-12 seats whereas others can win 6-11. As per Dainik Bhaskar's projection, the NC-Congress alliance can win seats ranging from 35-40. The BJP can win 20-25 seats, PDP 4-7 while the others can win 12-18 seats.
The People Pulse survey has predicted 46-50 seats for the NC-Congress alliance and 23-27 for the BJP. As per them, the PDP can win 7-11 whereas the others can win 4-6 seats.The Gulistan News projection on Republic TV projected 28-30 seats for the National Conference, 3-6 seats for the Congress, 5-7 seats for the PDP and 8-16 seats for other parties and independents.
(With inputs from agencies)
