Azad sworn in as J&K CM

Jammu: The Congress returns to power in the Valley after 30 years leading a coalition government with the PDP.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is Jammu and Kashmir's new Chief Minister.

Azad was sworn in as the tenth Chief Minister at a ceremony held in Srinagar on Wednesday.

The first J&K Chief Minister from the Jammu region, Azad will replace Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

The change in leadership is in keeping with the agreement between the Congress and PDP under which the two parties had decided to share the top post on a rotational basis.

Azad has resigned from the posts of Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs to take on the post of J&K Chief Minister.

Four PDP MLAs are likely to be sworn in along with Azad who is likely to keep a small and compact ministry.

PDP legislature party leader, Muzzaffar Hussain Baig, will take charge as deputy chief minister of the state.

The new Chief Minister faces the challenge of keeping the coalition together, something that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed did successfully during his tenure.

However the road ahead does not seem smooth for Azad.

PDP is already showing signs of dissent over Azad's decision of reducing the Cabinet size from 39 in Mufti Sayeed's government to 25.