Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has reportedly set November 4 as the date for the election of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. The election will be held at 10:30 AM on the first Monday of next month.

“Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him under Rule 9(1) of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly has fixed Monday, November 4 at 10:30 for the election of the speaker of Legislative Assembly for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir,” Raj Bhavan said in a statement.

Additionally, under Section 189(1) of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, the Lieutenant Governor has summoned a session of the Legislative Assembly on November 4, 2024. This session will commence at 11:30 AM in Srinagar, where Manoj Sinha will address the members of the Assembly.

On October 18, Sinha appointed senior National Conference leader Mubarak Gul, who won the assembly election from the Eidgah constituency, as a pro-tem speaker.

The NC-Congress alliance won the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, which were held after a gap of ten years. The JKNC won 42 seats while the Congress managed to win six.

Following the INDIA bloc’s victory, NC leader Omar Abdullah took oath as the first Chief Minister of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Omar Abdullah had earlier served as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009 and 2014. 

Quoting sources, a report by IANS said that the NC has offered the post of Deputy Speaker to the BJP, which is the second-largest party in the Assembly with 29 seats, behind the NC’s 42. The Congress has six members, the PDP three, while the Aam Aadmi Party, the Peoples Conference, and the CPI-M have one each. There are also 7 Independent members.

Although the NC and Congress fought the assembly elections in alliance, the Congress has said it would not join the cabinet as long as J&K’s statehood was not restored. Pre-poll ally CPI-M has also decided to stay out of the government.