Mehbooba likely to be sworn in as CM today

Jammu and Kashmir’s constitution does not allow vacant post of the chief minister

GN Bureau | January 8, 2016



Mehbooba Mufti will be the country's first Muslim woman chief minister of India and first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. She is expected to take oath today and succeed her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who died in Delhi yesterday after a brief illness.

As per Jammu and Kashmir constitution the chief minister's post cannot be kept vacant and governor's rule comes into effect immediately in case of a void. This leaves no choice for Mehbooba or for that matter the coalition partner BJP.

Mehbooba wanted to take oath after the traditional four-day mourning for father is over. However, her close aides in the party seem to have persuaded her to assume office of the chief minister today to avert a brief spell of governor’s rule.

A quick transition also leaves little room or time for the BJP to negotiate over the next chief minister.

Even then BJP general secretary Ram Madhav landed in Srinagar today to meet party legislators. Madhav was instrumental in stitching up the alliance between the ideologically-divergent BJP and PDP after the last assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the PDP has already sent its letter of support for Mehbooba to the governor.

In state elections held in December 2014, the PDP had won 28 of Jammu and Kashmir's 87 seats, dominating the Kashmir Valley, but fell short of a majority.  The BJP placed number 2 in the state with 25 seats, all won in the Jammu region. The National Conference has 15 seats and the Congress 12.

Sayeed is the third J&K chief minister to die in office but a delay in the announcement of the successor is unprecedented. When Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq died in a Chandigarh hospital on December 12, 1971, the transfer of power took place the same day and Mir Qasim succeeded him.

National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was succeeded by son Farooq Abdullah in September, 1982.

Comments

 

Other News

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That

When algorithms decide and children die

The images have not left me, of dead and wounded children being carried in the arms of the medics and relatives to the ambulances and hospitals. On February 28, at the start of Operation Epic Fury, cruise missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school – officially named a girls’ school, in Minab,

The economics of representation: Why women in power matter

India’s democracy has grown in scale, but not quite in balance. Women today are active participants in elections, influencing outcomes in ways that were not as visible earlier. Yet their presence in legislative institutions continues to lag behind. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was meant to addres

India will be powerful, not aggressive: Bhaiyyaji

India is poised to emerge as a global power but will remain rooted in its civilisational ethos of non-aggression and harmony, former RSS General Secretary Suresh `Bhaiyyaji` Joshi has said.   He was speaking at the launch of “Rashtrabhav,” a book by Ravindra Sathe


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter