Mehbuba Mufti sworn in as first woman CM in J&K

Mehbuba Mufti is the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. She was sworn in on Monday morning. Following the death of her father, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, in harness, Mehbuba had gone through an extended period of mourning. She has since recovered from the mournning following coaxing by the BJP-led government at the Centre, and taken up the reins to run the strife-torn state. Nirmal Singh of the BJP was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of the State in the People's Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government. Mehbuba had invited her bete noir in the J&K politics, Omar Abdullah, for the swearing-in. The Congress had, however, decided to stay away from the ceremony owing to its alliance with People's Conference. Mehbuba is married to Iqbal who is her father's first cousin. Governor NN Vohra administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mehbuba at 11 am. Sources said two former ministers of the PDP and three of the BJP are going to be dropped from the new ministry.