J-K stalemate ends as Mehbooba invited to form govt.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra on Saturday invited Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti to form the government in the state.

The Governor's invitation to Mufti follows the earlier discussions with the PDP chief and state BJP unit chief Sat Pal Sharma regarding government formation in the state and the subsequent communications received from Mehbooba in this regard.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu at 11 am on Monday.

Mehbooba had been seeking assurances from the Centre on the implementation of the agenda of the alliance and the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) framed by the two parties last year.

However, her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 22 ended the over two-month-long deadlock on government formation in the state.

The BJP had sought equal number of portfolios as the PDP. In the earlier Cabinet, the PDP had 11 portfolios while the BJP had seven.

Jammu and Kashmir was put under Governor's rule on January 8, a day after then chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed passed away.

The PDP and BJP had staked claim for government formation on March 26, two days after Mehbooba was elected as PDP's legislature party leader.

Mehbooba had earlier met the Governor and staked claim to form the government with the support of 25 MLAs of the BJP. The PDP has 27 MLAs in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.