Governance

Ready to form govt, will stake claim when numbers come our way, says JK BJP leader Ashok Koul

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Srinagar: A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has said the party was ready to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir and “we will stake claim as and when numbers come our way”, according to a report by The Tribune.

After their former ally, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), BJP has the second highest number of lawmakers in an Assembly of 89.

“The party is ready to form the government any time. We will stake a claim as and when the numbers come our way,” The Tribune quoted Ashok Koul, organising secretary of the state BJP, as having said.

“The BJP on its own has 26 MLAs (25 elected and one nominated) in the House of 89 (87 elected and two nominated) and we need 19 others to stake the claim,” Koul said.

Koul’s claim comes amid reports of discussions going on in New Delhi over government formation in the state where the six month Governor’s rule will be over next month.

Quoting sources, The Tribune said the BJP was holding consultations with some PDP legislators who had rebelled against the party after the fall of the government.

Koul said the BJP was in favour of the government because the “democratic and elected government was the best option for the people of the state.”

“The BJP has always wanted to give its people due recognition by giving them an elected representation as people voted for a democratic government,” Koul said, adding that “after the successful conduct of the urban local bodies elections in which the BJP emerged as a powerful party, it becomes the responsibility of the party to rise to the expectations of the people in forming the government, too.”

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