New Delhi
The Congress on Monday ruled out government formation in Jammu and Kashmir in coalition with the PDP, saying “the question of such an alliance does not arise”.

Ambika Soni, Congress general secretary for the state, and Ghulam Ahmed Mir, J&K party president, categorically denied any possibility of reaching an understanding with the PDP, which is said to have sent feelers to the grand old party.

The stand was reiterated after the meeting of the Congress core group on Jammu and Kashmir under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. The meeting, held at Singh’s residence, was attended by veterans Karan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, and state leaders Rigzin Jora and Tariq Karra among others.

“We stand by the original position we took after the imposition of the Governor’s rule in the state. There is no question of entering into an alliance with the PDP. Top priority for the Congress is restoration of law and order in the state. This is what we have conveyed to Governor NN Vohra when he met the political parties,” Mir told The Tribune.

The Congress may have considered allying with the National Conference (NC), but the two do not have the numbers required to form the government. The Congress has 12 lawmakers and the NC has 15, whereas the halfway mark in the 87-member assembly is 44.

Allying with the PDP would be suicidal, the Congress feels. Officially too, the party denied any such move, with Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi saying, “You and the BJP messed up J&K. And now you are inviting us to form the government. We are not so foolish.” The Congress has also not quite forgotten PDP’s outright snub to become part of a larger state alliance comprising the NC, PDP and Congress after the 2014 J&K elections.

The Congress has decided to strengthen its own organisation in the state with the core group resolving to visit Ladakh. Barring Manmohan Singh and Karan Singh, who will opt out due to health reasons, other committee members will soon visit Leh and Kargil after having travelled to Jammu and Srinagar earlier.

“We will advance our own agenda of peace, go to the people and tell them what we stand for. We will speak directly to the people about peace-building initiatives taken under the Congress-led UPA I and UPA II governments and about the unfinished agenda,” Mir said.

Meanwhile, Mehbooba Mufti, PDP chief, was learnt to be keen to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.