SRINAGAR, 29 October — Congress party lawmakers in Kashmir voiced concern Monday over a power-sharing deal for the disputed state hammered out by their national leaders at the weekend.

The Congress and the regional People’s Democratic Party (PDP) agreed in New Delhi to form a coalition government in the state, with the PDP to head the assembly for the first three years before handing over to Congress for the remaining three years.

The Congress won 20 seats and the PDP 16 in the staggered assembly elections that ended Oct. 8. With the support of two junior partners, the coalition has crossed the magic figure of 44 seats required to control the 87-member assembly in Srinagar.

But Congress lawmakers expressed doubts that the PDP, whose leader Mufti Muhammad Sayeed is to be chief minister initially, will play ball.

"What guarantee we have that... Sayeed will not dissolve the assembly after three years and force fresh elections?" asked Taj Mohiudin, a Congress politician who defeated Muhammad Shafi, a veteran leader of long-ruling National Conference, for a seat in the assembly.

Mohiudin said the chief minister had the power to dissolve the assembly and urged his party leaders to ensure the term of the "rotational chief ministership" was reduced.

Ten Congress legislators, including Mohiudin and seven independents, met in Srinagar Sunday to condemn Congress high command’s decision "to hand over power to PDP on a platter."

Mohiudin accused the party’s central command of "playing with our sentiments," though he said he and his colleagues would support the decision.

"We have serious reservations against the nomination of Sayeed as chief minister," said Mohiudin.

"It had been conveyed to the central leadership that Sayeed would not be accepted as leader of the house," added Jugal Kishore, a legislator from the Jammu region.

"We have been saddened by the decision, but in Congress we have to go by whatever is decided by the high command." The lawmakers said party leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, the head of Congress in Kashmir, had failed to consult them before making the decision. "We came to know about the developments through media only," said Kishore. Azad’s nomination as chief minister was opposed by PDP because he is from the Jammu region not from Kashmir Valley, which has suffered most during the 13-year-old anti-India rebellion.

The creation of the coalition government in Kashmir after two weeks of wrangling opened a rare window for peace in the contested Himalayan region, analysts and media said yesterday.

With a deal finally struck, the new alliance must act quickly to heal the scars of 13 years of revolt and lift living standards, said analyst Amitabh Mattoo. "(The coalition)...has a real chance to channelize the people’s vote for peace and prosperity into the construction of a "naya" (new) Kashmir," the Jawaharlal Nehru University security analyst wrote in The Hindu daily.

Said the Asian Age in its editorial: "(It)...could turn out to be the proverbial last chance for the democratic process to rescue Jammu and Kashmir from militancy and corruption."

The new coalition partners are due to meet Kashmir Governor G.C. Saxena today to claim power, media reported.