Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will have its inaugural session for newly elected lawmakers here on November 4. It will begin with a special address by the Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha at 11.30 AM.
Sinha consented to call the session of the 90-member House on the recommendation of the Union territory’s first cabinet meeting on October 17. It was chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The meeting also reviewed the LG's address to the assembly and decided that it would be considered and discussed further.
The House will also elect its first permanent speaker. Earlier, the LG named Eidgah MLA Mubarik Gul as Protem Speaker, and the National Conference (NC) leader administered the oath to the newly elected members on October 21.
Amid several predictions surrounding the speaker’s post during the historic session, another NC leader and seven-time MLA, Abdul Rahim Rather, is poised to be the top contender from the NC. The Char-e-Sharief MLA held key finance portfolios in the past administrations of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah in the erstwhile state. He also served as Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly between 2002 and 2008, during the Peoples Democratic Party-Congress government.
The NC leads the newly elected assembly, with 42 of its leaders winning their respective MLA seats. The party has the support of 55 seats, including the backing of its coalition allies, including Congress and independent candidates. This will allow the party to confidently select its preferred speaker and handle the proceedings smoothly.
On the other hand, the key opposition in the house, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has 29 members, lacking the edge to put forth their own candidate. The saffron party acknowledges they lack numbers and will likely avoid fielding their candidate for the post.
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