Though Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in the Manmohan Singh government, is preparing to take over as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister on November 2, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who holds the post at the moment is keeping the Congress leaders guessing about the transfer of power.
Mufti had been looking for an extension of his rule by six months to one year. His argument was that this is not the proper time for transferring power, when the state government is involved in relief and rehabilitation programmes for the victims of the October 8 earthquake.
Sources close to the chief minister would neither confirm nor deny news reports that Mufti has agreed to step down from his office and let Azad take over.
"If we do not go into other aspects, Azad has himself said that the transfer of power would take place on November 2 as scheduled. And we should go by his words," said Mangat Ram Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister on the phone from Srinagar.
Saifuddin Soz, member of Parliament, also confirmed that the transfer of power is now only a matter of time. "This week is going to be very hectic and the formalities leading to transfer of power would begin soon," he said.
However, no-one is sure when Azad would be elected leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress Legislature Party. "This is a mere formality. There is no other contender. Azad sahib would be our chief minister," said Sharma.
According to sources in the state administration, Mufti is likely to tender his resignation on October 27 or 28, and thus pave way for the installation of the Congress-led government.
"We would like to hand over power on schedule," Mehbooba Mufti, chief of the People's Democratic Party, was quoted by a leading national daily.
This substantiates Azad's statement that there is no hitch in the transfer of power.
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