The governor is understood to have asked Mufti to continue in the office till the next incumbent took over on November 2. Azad's oath taking ceremony shall be held in Raj Bhavan at Srinagar [Images], according to sources.

Talking to media persons after resigning from office, Mufti said that the controversy revolving change of guard in Jammu and Kashmir was the "media's creation".

"We had an agreement with the Congress according to which the Peoples Democratic Party had to hand over the baton to the Congress party at the end of its three-year term. This was a gentleman's agreement and had to be carried out. I throughout maintained that we shall stick to the agreement."

Meanwhile the PDP legislature party meeting scheduled for today has been postponed to October 31. The meeting was to select its nominee for the post of deputy chief minister for which the two strong contenders were, state finance minister Muzaffar Hussan Beigh and the state housing and tourism minister Ghulam Hassan Mir.

The meeting has been postponed because of lack of consensus on the issue, according to sources. Some partymen are favouring the candidature of party chief Mehbooba Mufti to surmount the division of opinion in the party on Beigh and Mir.

Also read: Mufti gave peace a chance