"Dost Dost Na Raha": Omar Abdullah dares Ram Madhav over bullish J&K alliance hint, rules out backdoor deal with BJP

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and eminent Twitterati Omar Abdullah has reacted sarcastically to remarks by BJP senior leader Ram Madhav talking bullishly about forming a government in India's northern-most state in the assembly elections that are due to be held soon.

Speaking to PTI, Ram Madhav had said that the BJP would form a stable government in J&K following the elections, along with "some friends" whom he left unnamed. He essentially put forth that the BJP would be the single-largest party, though it would not be making any pre-poll alliances.

Madhav also added that the Prime Minister would be kicking off the party's campaign for both Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state with a visit there on February 3. 

In response to this, Omar Abdullah has raised a bunch of questions via just one tweet. He begins by quoting a famous Hindi song, "Dost dost na raha" (roughly - my friend isn't a friend anymore), and takes aim at the "some friends" mention by Ram Madhav. He dares these "friends" of the BJP to admit their alliance before the elections, rather than spring a surprise later on, comparing it with the scenario after the most recent J&K assembly elections at the end of 2014, at the end of which the BJP and PDP - two parties that were and continue to be ideologically incongruent - formed a coalition government in the state under then PDP chief Mufti Muhammad Sayeed's Chief Minister-ship.

Abdullah has also been careful to reiterate that his Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is not in any form of pre-poll alliance with the BJP, adding, "And before you ask - no @JKNC_ isn’t one of these "friends"."

Omar Abdullah's father Farooq Abdullah had been present at the united Opposition rally hosted by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Saturday where a number of leaders made speeches and a show of strength stating their goal of removing Narendra Modi as PM in the coming Lok Sabha polls. In his speech, Abdullah, focused on the need to 'save the country', hitting out at the BJP by alleging ongoing religious discrimination. He also railed against EVMs and in terms of leadership of the anti-BJP alliance, said that a PM candidate could be fixed later.

The political situation in Jammu and Kashmir remains fluid, with parties not revealing their cards just yet. The whirlwind alliance between the PDP, JKNC and Congress that forced dissolution of the assembly a few months earlier appears to have disbanded as Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been tweeting political attacks against each other. At that time, a rival bid to form a government had come in from Sajad Lone who founded the JK People's Conference, and staked claim to forming a government citing the BJP's support.