SRINAGAR: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti is likely to take oath as first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on April 4.
“Mehbooba Mufti to be sworn in as J&K Chief Minister on April 4. May her government usher a new era of peace and prosperity in the region,” senior PDP leader and former Vice Chancellor of Jammu University tweeted late in the evening.
His tweet cleared the suspense that was surrounding the swearing-in ceremony of the PDP-BJP coalition government to be headed by 56-year-old Mehbooba Mufti.
The PDP and BJP had staked claim for government formation on March 26 (Saturday), two days after PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was elected as PDP’s legislature party leader and.
Mehbooba, who is now set to become first woman chief minister of the Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in national capital on March 22 to seal the deal on the government formation.
After the death of her father Mufti Sayeed, who headed PDP-BP coalition government for 10 months from March 1 last year until his death on January 7 this year, Mehbooba had been reluctant to take over as CM of the PDP-BJP coalition government.
She had been seeking assurances from the central government on implementation of Agenda of Alliance, the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) framed by the two parties last year. She had also been seeking some J&K-specific confidence building measures.
However, her meeting with PM Modi ended the over two months long deadlock on government formation in the State between PDP and BJP and sealed the government formation deal between the two allies.
It is, however, not clear whether the BJP will get more ministries this time or they will have to contend with what they had during the government headed by Mufti Sayeed.
State BJP is demanding equal share in power and wants some important portfolios like Finance, Planning, Law and MoS Home from PDP.
J&K is under Governor’s rule. It was imposed on January 8, a day after former CM Mufti Sayeed died in AIIMS New Delhi.