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SRINAGAR: With Mehbooba Mufti firmly refusing to take oath as chief minister before the four day mourning period is over for her father’s death, Jammu & Kashmir is a state in a political limbo. With governor’s rule imposed, rumours are flying thick and fast in Srinagar about possible new political configurations. Mehbooba Mufti is refusing to take oath until "chahurram" — the four day mourning period for most Kashmiri Muslims — a time when no ceremonial functions can take place is over.“By refusing to take oath, Mehbooba is giving a layered response to the situation,” said a highly placed PDP source . “She is asserting her faith, her mazhab, her religion, that she will not do anything that goes against her beliefs as a daughter and as a Muslim.”PDP sources say the situation is similar to that which Mufti found himself in January 2015 before the formation of the PDP-BJP government when he was in no hurry to rush into things but was happy to wait until the conditions had been met and a mutually agreed common minimum programme had been found.At the moment Mehbooba remains shut away in the upper floors of the Mufti family home, Fairview on Gupkar Road. A procession of PDP and BJP leaders file in through the day hoping to meet her, but she steadfastly refuses to meet anyone beyond private one on one interactions with select leaders, notably yesterday with Ram Madhav and deputy CM Nirmal Singh of the BJP.“Constitutionally, a state government should not cease to exist because a chief minister dies. The life of a state cabinet does not depend on the life of the CM,” says lawyer and constitutional expert Harish Salve. “When a CM dies, the senior most minister should become the acting CM. Governor’s rule can only be imposed if the ministers resign or if the governor dismisses them.” In this case the ministers may feel they have lost moral legitimacy with the death of Mufti but they still hold offices to which they were sworn in, and continue to draw government salaries, says Salve.Many believe that in the case of the PDP-BJP alliance, the senior most minister, in this case deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, taking charge as caretaker would perhaps not be acceptable to the PDP as this would mean J&K has passed into BJP rule.Eminent Srinagar advocate Zafar Shah says as there is no constitutional crisis at the moment. “When Indira Gandhi died, Pranab Mukherjee became the caretaker PM and the cabinet subsequently resigned when the party chose Rajiv Gandhi as its PM candidate. In that case, there was no immediate hurry to swear in a new PM, as a caretaker was in charge”. Shah says if Mehbooba refuses to take oath, then J&K will face a full blown political crisis.Meanwhile a political guessing game is on and Srinagar swirls with rumours flying thick and fast .With Congress president Sonia Gandhi slated to visit Srinagar on Sunday and the Congress’s Ghulam Nabi Azad having already paid his respects at Mufti sayed’s grave at Bijbehara, there are whisperings of new political configurations in Kashmir even as BJP and PDP assert the strength of their alliance. PDP sources say Mehbooba is committed to carry on her father’s work and legacy and will not ditch an alliance he worked so hard to build. Others say many in the PDP are urging Mehbooba to turn her back on the BJP, given the unpopularity of the alliance in the Valley. The fact that Mufti’s funeral was not marked by large crowds has been read by many as a sign of this government’s popularity deficit. The Opposition has been quick to seize the opportunity. Tweeted NC's Omar Abdullah: “48 hours and where is governance in J&K?”Mehbooba Mufti is not someone who is interested in power for its own sake, she is counter-intuitive when it comes to power says a senior political observer here. He points out that there have always been two camps in the PDP, one that was in favour of the alliance with the BJP, another bitterly opposed. “Maybe this time the anti-BJP camp has got active and is pressurizing Mehbooba to break off ties with the ruling party.”For the moment all eyes are on the reclusive possible future CM Mehbooba Mufti in deep mourning in her home, shut away from most people. “The PDP and friends of the PDP stand firmly behind Mehbooba Mufti and we will all go along with her, whatever she decides,” says Amitabh Mattoo, former adviser to Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.