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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
People's Democratic Party vice-president Muzzaffar Hussain Beg has said party president Mufti Mohammed Sayeed is likely to be sworn-in chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, November 2.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will attend the ceremony, he told rediff.com
"Since Mufti saheb will lead a coalition government of the PDP and Congress, we have requested Sonia Gandhi to attend the ceremony. She is not free before November 2. Hence the swearing will take place on that date," he said.
Asked when the Mufti would be elected PDP legislative party leader, he said there was ample time for that.
"Mufti saheb, [his daughter and party vice-president] Mehbooba Mufti and I are returning to Srinagar on Monday. He would be elected leader of the PDP either on Monday evening or Tuesday morning," he said.
He said the Mufti will meet Governor Girish Chandra Saxena and stake claim to form the government on Tuesday evening.
"He has to take along Ghulam Nabi Azad, president of the J&K Pradesh Congress Committee, Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, leader of the Democratic People's Forum, and Bhim Singh of the J&K National Panthers Party," Beg said.
Meanwhile, the Congress high command has asked Azad to go to Jammu and talk to some of the party legislators who are unhappy with the decision to hand over chief ministership to the Mufti.
Speaking to rediff.com from his residence in Jammu, Amrit Malhotra, chief spokesman of the Congress in the state, said there is no dissidence within the party and all the issues have been settled amicably.
"After our talks with Sonia Gandhi on phone, all outstanding issues have been settled and there is no revolt in the party. We fully support the Congress high command's decision to let Mufti Mohammad Sayeed head the new coalition government in the state. Gandhi has assured us that the deputy chief minister would be one of the elected MLAs and not someone from Delhi. She has also told us that important portfolios would come to Congress leaders," he said.
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