Since the moment PDP president Mehbooba Mufti landed in the winter capital city from Srinagar by a private airliner on Tuesday, she has been the cynosure of all political and media eyes.
Mehbooba Mufti, whose yes or no on government formation can change the political map of Jammu and Kashmir, landed here for the first time after the death of her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in New Delhi on January 7, a day the memories of which bring tears in her eyes.
She was quiet as she moved out from Jammu airport to the familiar roads since her college days. But the diversion she took led her to the State Guest House on Talab Tillo road.
It was a marked departure from her earlier visits, when she would either go to the Chief Minister’s official residence or to Bungalow No. 1, Ved Mandir Complex, where she and her father used to live before the latter became Chief Minister in March last year.
Her attire was slightly different. She had wrapped herself in a shawl. She was a picture of composure, giving away nothing by her gestures as to what her plans were. She received a few visitors at the State Guest House. Among them the most prominent was the tenant in the neighbourhood and former Deputy CMNirmal Singh.
Nirmal Singh described his more than 45-minute-long meeting with Mehbooba as a “courtesy call”. But the fact that there was political flavour in the meeting became obvious when he said, “The BJP and PDP were allies and there was an expectation of a democratically elected government assuming office. There will be a government for sure.”
After a series of consultations with her colleagues, particularly Muzaffar Hussain Beig, a votary of retaining the alliance and forming government with the BJP once again, she reached Raj Bhawan at the time of her appointment. Baig, also a legal luminary and constitutional expert, was with him.
On her return, she told the media what she wanted — confidence-building measures by the Government of India before the next government was formed. Thereafter, she again went into a huddle with her colleagues while the national media kept a watch on her.
