By IANS
Jammu : The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally recommended senior leader Muzzffar Hussain Baig for the post of deputy chief minister in the likely cabinet expansion of the Jammu and Kashmir coalition ministry this month.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who called on his predecessor and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Saturday evening for discussions on the contentious issues, was given the name of Baig as PDP’s nominee for the deputy chief minister – the post Baig held when the Congress took over from the PDP in November 2004. However, he was stripped of the position in August 2006.
“There was a discussion on many subjects and most of the problems that had cropped up between the chief minister and the PDP leadership have been removed,” a senior leader of the PDP told IANS.
He said that Baig would be the next deputy chief minister as and when the cabinet expansion takes place.
However, sources close to the chief minister said the cabinet expansion would not take place immediately.
There are so many things that need to be sorted out before the cabinet reshuffle, the sources said.
The last cabinet reshuffle was in August last year.
The Congress is also finalizing its list. It wants to give representation to ethnic communities like Sikhs, Kashmiri Pandits and the Scheduled castes in the expanded ministry, according to sources.