SRINAGAR: After three-days hard negotiations between Jammu and Kashmir ruling coalition partners PDP and BJP for three days on ministries, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Tuesday alloted much-awaited portfolios to the ministers.
Mufti will himself be looking after the Home and Tourism Department while Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh will be looking after Power and Housing and Urban Development.
PDP’s banker and economist Dr Haseeb A Drabu is State’s Finance Minister. He has also been allotted Labour and Employment and Culture portfolios.
Health and Medical Education portfolio has been given to BJP’s Lal Singh while Industries and Commerce (I&C) ministry has been given to saffron party’s Chander Prakash.
BJP’s Sukhnandan Kumar has been given PHE portfolio while party’s Bali Bhagat will be looking after Social Wefare, Forest, Ecology and Environment.
PDP’s Javaid Mustafa Mir has been given Revenue, Chowhdary Zulfikar Ali Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Basharat Bukhar Law, Justice and Palriamentary Affairs and Naeem Akhtar Education.
Separatist-turned-mainstream politician and MLA Handwara Sajjad Gani Lone was given the portfolio of Science and Technology and Animal Husbandry.
After the government formation deal between PDP and BJP, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took oath as Chief Minister and BJP’s Nirmal Singh as Deputy Chief Minister of the State in Jammu on March 1 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leadership.
Besides Mufti and Singh, 23 ministers were also sworn-in.
PDP got a lion’s share in the cabinet. It has 14 ministers including Chief Minister while the saffron party has 11 ministers.
Sources said there was delay because there were some differences between the two parties on key ministries.
BJP spokesman Arun Gupta told Express that some issues were to be sorted out and party looked into those issues.
“The issues related to portfolios were not discussed before and that is why it took few days for the Chief Minister to allot the portfolio to the ministers,” he said.
