BBC Online :Mehbooba Mufti has been sworn in as the first woman chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir.The 56-year-old leader is the daughter of the former chief minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who died in January.Her father’s death led to weeks of wrangling between Ms Mufti and India’s ruling BJP, over the future of their coalition government.Analysts say Ms Mufti may face challenges from within her own regional party, as well as from the coalition.Ms Mufti took oath after a delay of nearly three months since her father’s death.It was a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 March that finally allowed the re-stitching of the “unusual” alliance of two diametrically opposite political parties – Ms Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Last year, Mr Sayeed himself had called the PDP-BJP alliance a meeting of the North and South Poles.In a sharp contrast to the BJP, the PDP has been seen as a pro-Kashmir party and critics accuse it of peddling “soft separatism” revolving around reconciliation with Pakistan and separatist groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir.Ms Mufti is seen by many in India as a “militant mainstream politician” – with a history of showing solidarity with families of militants.But now, she is in the hot seat.She refused to take office immediately after her father’s death, insisting on some “confidence building measures”, but finally managed to broker a “secret” deal with Mr Modi in a recent meeting.
