The Congress seems to have given up its initial reluctance to join the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir, with a senior party leader now batting for a road map or a discussion with ally National Conference (NC) for a “coalition” government that incorporates his party in the cabinet.

The Congress's prod seemed to be an attempt to get a cabinet berth, four of which remain to be filled up.

Omar’s cabinet comprises five ministers. Four — Surinder Choudhary, Javed Rana, Sakina Itto and Javed Dar — are from his party while the fifth, Satish Sharma, is an Independent from Jammu.

Striking a balance between Jammu and Kashmir was Omar’s top priority, prompting him to give three berths to Jammu. Since Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory (UT), Omar can have a maximum of nine ministers.

Sharma and four other Independent legislators from Jammu had supported the NC for the government formation. While the NC has 42 MLAs, the Independents’ support takes the number past the majority mark of 46. The Congress won only six seats, all in the Valley. Its drubbing in Jammu rendered it irrelevant to government formation.

The NC and the Congress fought the elections in an alliance but no Congress member is part of Omar’s cabinet. Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra had said they were extending support to the NC but were not joining the government “at the moment” as Jammu and Kashmir remained a UT.

AICC general secretary and MLA Dooru Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Wednesday urged Omar to run the government as a coalition. He left it to Omar to take a call, wary it should not send out a message of disunity.

“We fought as a coalition. No matter which party got how many seats, it is a coalition government. It is a different thing that our party is not in the cabinet directly. When the chief minister wants, he can talk to other stakeholders and take forward the move the way he wants,” Mir told reporters in Anantnag.

The Congress leader said a coalition must have a discussion or a road map.

“When he (Omar) wants, the Congress will present a road map and chalk out what to do for people, for the state and who should get what responsibility in a coalition,” he said.

Omar is already facing pressure from the Opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party and the Peoples Conference, for allegedly diluting his position on Article 370. A resolution passed in the Assembly recently called for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status but made no direct mention of Articles 370 and 35A.

The Congress, which supported the resolution, was slammed by the BJP and home minister Amit Shah for allegedly supporting the restoration of Article 370. It prompted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to accuse Shah of spreading lies. Kharge said the party was not seeking restoration as the changes had been passed by Parliament.