Mehbooba set to be first woman CM of J&K

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is set to be the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, succeeding her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who passed away on Thursday, with party MLAs unanimously electing her as their leader and writing to Governor N N Vohra in this regard.

A party delegation met the Governor at Raj Bhavan in Srinagar and handed over the letter which says that the PDP legislators back the 56-year-old Mehbooba to take over as the 13th Chief Minister of the state, a senior PDP leader said.

He said the selection of Ms. Mehbooba, a Lok Sabha member, as the leader of 28-member PDP Legislature party was a unanimous decision.

The party leader, however, did not specify the date or time for her swearing-in.

“It will follow in due course of time as we are still in the process of performing last rites of our beloved leader,” the PDP leader said.

Earlier, BJP, which is the coalition partner in the state government, left it to PDP to choose its nominee for the post of Chief Minister.

“As the BJP has left it to the PDP to select its Chief Ministerial nominee, decks seem to have been cleared for Mehbooba to become the first woman Chief Minister of the state,” the PDP leader said.