Srinagar/Jammu: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti will be sworn in as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir today, also becoming the first-ever Muslim woman CM, heading a coalition government with BJP in the only Muslim-majority state.
The 56-year-old leader, daughter of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, will take oath of office at Raj Bhawan in Jammu at 11.00 AM.
Mehbooba assuming office will be a landmark event in the history of Jammu and Kashmir as well as rest of the country. She will be the first woman to head a government in Jammu and Kashmir and the first Muslim woman to become the Chief Minister of a state in India.
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Governor NN Vohra had on Saturday invited the PDP president to form and lead the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state.
“The Governor’s invitation to (Mehbooba) Mufti follows the earlier discussions with the PDP and BJP presidents regarding formation of government in the state and the subsequent communications received from her and Sat Sharma, president, J&K BJP in regard to this matter,” an official spokesman said.
The PDP-BJP government can expect a smooth run if the two ideologically opposite parties can avoid controversies that dogged their first brush together with power when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed headed the government for 10 months till his death on January 7.
The PDP-BJP coalition, which also has Sajad Gani Lone led Peoples' Conference as a constituent, has 56 lawmakers in the 87-member Assembly.
The PDP has 27 members while BJP has 25. Peoples' Conference has two lawmakers while two other independents are supporting the coalition.
The revival of the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state -- after three months of stalemate -- became possible after several rounds of hectic negotiations between the two parties and apparent intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, the Congress said that it will boycott the swearing-in ceremony of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti as J&K Chief Minister saying they are opposed to 'a government ultimately backed by the RSS'.
"We will boycott the oath-taking ceremony for two reasons. Firstly because we oppose a government which is ultimately backed by the RSS. And secondly, Mehbooba Mufti's grandstanding for three months cost the state," Congress state president GA said.
Jammu and Kashmir was put under Governor's Rule on January 8, a day after Sayeed passed away in New Delhi and she had not been keen to succeed him initially.
