Jammu and Kashmir governor N.N. Vohra on Saturday formally invited Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti to form and lead the PDP-BJP coalition government.
Jammu and Kashmir governor N.N. Vohra on Saturday formally invited Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti to form and lead the PDP-BJP coalition government. She will fly to winter capital Jammu on Sunday, where she is scheduled to be sworn in as the state’s first woman chief minister at the head of the coalition government on Monday.
Earlier, Ms Mufti personally spoke to her political bête noire, former chief minister and National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, on the phone to invite him to the swearing-in ceremony. Mr Abdullah accepted the invitation, later writing on micro-blogging site Twitter: “Very gracious of Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba to phone & invite me to her oath-taking ceremony. I look forward to being there on the 4th.”
Ms Mufti also visited her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s grave at Bijbehara to offer prayers and seek blessings before walking in his footsteps. She was accompanied by her daughter Iltija, uncle Amin Mufti and cousin Sajad Mufti. BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav will also be present.
Others who have been invited to the ceremony include Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Jitendra Singh, scheduled to be held in the sprawling lawns of Raj Bhavan in Jammu at 11 am on Monday. Ms Mufti’s mother Gulshan Ara Nazir, brother Tassaduq Hussain Sayeed and daughters Iltija and Irtiqa are also likely to be present but it is not yet clear if her two sisters, Rubaya Sayeed and Mehmooda Sayeed, who live with their families outside Jammu and Kashmir, will make it.
Over two dozen ministers, including deputy chief minister designate Nirmal Singh, will also take oath at the ceremony, sources said. The BJP had publicly pitched for a “just and equitable share” in power with the PDP and was driving a hard bargain but it is not known if the demand has been conceded by its ally.
On reaching Jammu on Sunday, Ms Mufti will hold discussions with party leaders and Mr Singh on the composition of the ministry and distribution of portfolios. “The names of people from the alliance partners to be inducted into her council of ministers have already been decided and it would only be a formality that is going to be undertaken by them,” the sources said.
The PDP and the BJP had staked claim for government formation on March 26, two days after Ms Mufti was elected PDP’s legislature party leader.
