In a tacit move by making her two PDP MPs in the Rajya Sabha abstain from voting for the election of deputy chairman of the House on Thursday, Mehbooba has played her cards cleverly to keep the doors open for future alliance with the BJP to form government in Jammu and Kashmir which is presently under the Governor’s rule. The Rajya Sabha poll saw NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh winning the deputy chairman post by 20 votes.

Though abstaining of her two MPs hardly made any contribution to Singh’s win, Mehbooba’s game-plan is being seen as her tacit support to Prime Minister Narendera Modi.

Her move has also come as a surprise as after withdrawal of support to her government by the BJP on 19 June, both she and the BJP leadership had been blaming each other for the terror mess in the state.

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Reacting to Mehbooba’s move, National Conference chief and MP Farooq Abdullah told The Statesman that having thrown into “wilderness” by the BJP, she seems to have asked her Rajya Sabha members to abstain from today’s poll so that she could realign with the BJP.

Farooq Abdullah said Mehbooba’s base in Kashmir had eroded as a result of which she was confused and making such moves in the hope of again grabbing power. Till the PDP issued a whip to its two Rajya Sabha members to abstain from polling, people did not know whether she would support the UPA candidate or go with the BJP.

In the exchange of tweets between NC leader Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba earlier this week on the issue of election of the deputy chairman, Omar accused her of hobnobbing with both the Congress and BJP with her two votes.  However, Mehbooba accused Omar of fabricating stories based on “pure fiction”. “Such dangerous propaganda is detrimental to the truth and an attempt to mislead people”.

This is not the first time after BJP pulled down her government that Mehbooba has supported the BJP in the Parliament. The PDP’s lone member in the Lok Sabha, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, had also last month abstained from voting on the no-confidence motion that was moved by TDP against Narendera Modi led NDA government.

Political observers point out that Mehbooba was keeping Modi in good humour by extending such “tactical alliance”. It is being said the break-up between the two parties was also a tacit affair as both BJP and PDP had lost considerable ground in their political constituency in Jammu and the Kashmir valley respectively by forging the alliance. Both might again shake hands after the Lok Sabha elections next year, it is being suspected in political circles. J&K Congress chief, GA Mir alleged that by abstaining from the election Mehbooba has exposed her “lust” for power.