Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party, will take oath as the first woman CM of Jammu and Kashmir on April 4, ending 11 weeks of political uncertainty.
The date was forwarded to the Raj Bhavan on Thursday after last-minute consultations between the PDP and the BJP. Sources said Ms. Mufti got in touch with the BJP brass “to prevent the State leadership from demanding more portfolios.”
It’s learnt that the BJP pressured Ms. Mufti to renegotiate the portfolios of Finance, Planning and Home. The Home Ministry has traditionally been with the Chief Minister. The sources said Ms. Mufti expressed her unhappiness to the BJP leadership and sought an immediate end to the controversy. or “face consequences”.
A top BJP leader in the State told The Hindu that Ms. Mufti and Nirmal Singh of the BJP “held talks and reached consensus yesterday [on Thursday].”
The BJP is facing heat within the party as many legislators are demanding Cabinet berths. Sources said the BJP may ease out prominent leaders because of the poor feedback from its ranks.
“There are no differences. Distribution of portfolios will be decided by the Central leadership,” BJP State president Sat Sharma said.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is away on April 4, the swearing-in may be a low-key affair. Sources said Union Home Minister Rajnath might attend the function.
J-K slipped into the governor’s rule immediately after sitting Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s demise on January 7. The PDP-BJP stalemate ended only after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ms. Mufti on March 23.
