Modi bandwagon runs into Jammu & Kashmir

India's ruling Hindu nationalist party was sworn into government in the country's only Muslim-majority state yesterday for the first time after an historic power-sharing deal with a bitter regional rival.

Narendra Modi hailed the partnership between his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) as a chance to fulfil the aspirations of a region which has endured a sporadic revolt against Indian rule since 1989.

After weeks of intensive negotiations, the parties forged a coalition following inconclusive elections two months ago for the restive Himalayan region's state assembly.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the Muslim head of the PDP, was sworn in as the region's chief minister, along with his cabinet whose members are split roughly equally between the two parties.

In a symbolic gesture, the 79-year-old Sayeed enthusiastically embraced Hindu nationalist Modi, who was on stage to witness the ceremony, held amid tight security in the region's winter capital of Jammu.

Modi and Sayeed, whose parties are staunchly opposed on a range of critical issues in the region, last week finally agreed on a common agenda to jointly rule the state.

Unveiled on Sunday, the 16-page agenda says the government will maintain a constitutional provision which allows Kashmir to make its own laws and guarantees autonomy from New Delhi.

The BJP has long been committed to its abolition, while the PDP is steadfastly in favour of keeping it.

The new government will also keep in place a draconian law that gives Indian forces sweeping search and shoot-on-sight powers in Kashmir, which is seen by critics as a cover for rights abuses.

The swearing-in ceremony comes after December elections that saw the BJP capture 25 seats mainly in the Hindu-dominated Jammu region, while the PDP took 28, mostly in the Kashmir valley where Muslim separatist sentiment has traditionally been strongest.

Analysts warned that the coming together of two ideologically different parties could fuel discontent among Hindus in Jammu as well as Muslims in the Kashmir valley.