The appointment of retired IAS officers Pervez Dewan and Khursheed Ganai as advisors to Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra on Thursday is a clear signal of the delayed government formation in the border state.

National Conference chief and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that apart from the delay in government formation, the appointment of the advisors may even signal fresh elections in the state.

“This clearly indicates that Gov Vohra doesn’t see an early end to central rule in the state. Elections this year???” tweeted Abdullah. The NC leader, who has been asking Mehbooba Mufti to make her conditions public, said: “Even the BJP doesn’t know what the PDP is demanding. Talk about a political nautanki (theatrics) by Ms Mufti to fool the people.”

Jammu and Kashmir is under President’s Rule since January 9 when former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed passed away after a prolonged ailment, in Delhi.

The ruling BJP and PDP alliance has since run into rough weather with Mehbooba Mufti clearly saying she does not have her father’s “vision neither do I have the experience right now” to step into his shoes. She has also said she wants further “confidence building measures” from the Centre without specifying what they are.

A few BJP MLAs that BusinessLine spoke to said Mehbooba Mufti understands that the alliance with the BJP has cost her popular support while, at the same time, it has not been able to negotiate the kind of terms that the late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was hoping for.

Consequently, she has put government formation on hold while she decides whether it is politically prudent for her to break the alliance and go for fresh elections.

Meanwhile, the BJP has refused to lend her a helping hand, with chief interlocutor Ram Madhav clarifying that no conditions other than the agenda for alliance will be entertained. In such a situation, the political impasse means the State is slowly heading towards fresh polls.

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