Srinagar: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Monday redistributed portfolios among the ministers after the induction of eight new ministers including six from BJP and two from PDP. Before the induction of new ministers the outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh and Rural Development Minister Abdul Haq Khan submitted their resignations which were accepted by Governor N N Vohra. The Chief redistributed portfolios among the minister as indicated below:
New Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta has his roots in the RSS, which he joined at a young age of 13. The 59-year-old served as the mayor of Jammu for three terms, consecutively from 2005 to 2010. He has also been a general secretary of the BJP’s state unit. In 2014, he was elected as an MLA for the first time from the Gandhi Nagar seat where he defeated sitting Congress minister Raman Bhalla. Following the PDP-BJP’s assembly election win in 2014, Gupta was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the House.