The Prime Minister Office (PMO) is depending on Union Finance Secretary Ratan Watal, not for Union Budget 2016, but for breaking ice with PDP leader Mehoobha Mufti.

Watal (pictured), a 1978 IAS from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, speaks six languages and is a hardcore political animal despite being a career bureaucrat.

Without the involvement of any politicians,  Watal has a knack of brokering negotiations between BJP and PDP.

In fact, Watal was a close confidante and the private secretary of PV Narasimha Rao when he was PM.

The late Jammu and Kashmir CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had sought the PMO's permission to depute Ratan Watal as Chief Secretary of the state. He has been a close observer of Kashmir issues and the PDP-BJP alliance.