Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha has scheduled the first session of the newly elected Legislative Assembly on November 4.
The election of the Speaker of the assembly will also take place the same day.
According to reports, the session will begin at 11:30am after the LG address.
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The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, mandates the LG to address the House in its first session after each general election.
The LG will also address the House in the first session of each year.
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The process to elect the Speaker will begin at 10:30am.
This decision, according to sources, was made by the LG under Rule 9(1) of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
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Abdul Rahim Rather, a senior leader from the National Conference (NC), is the frontrunner for the Speaker position. The NC-led alliance has the support of 55 MLAs in the 90-member assembly.
The BJP, which is the largest opposition party in the assembly, is unlikely to nominate its candidate due to lack of numbers.
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The Deputy Speaker position will be offered to the BJP as per tradition.
The first session of the assembly elected after 10 years assumes significance in view of the NC’s poll pledge to bring in a resolution in the House against the abrogation of Article 370.
The J&K cabinet has already passed a resolution for the restoration of statehood. The resolution was also cleared by LG.
The Centre had linked the restoration of statehood with delimitation and elections. Delimitation was completed in 2022 and elections were held in three- phases—September, 18, 25 and October 1.
The Supreme Court while upholding the BJP’s Article 370 move had asked the Centre to restore statehood as soon as possible.
The NC-Congress alliance enjoys support of other parties—PDP, JKAP, PC and independents—for the restoration of statehood.
The BJP leaders say that they are committed to the restoration of the statehood. During electioneering, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had reiterated their committment to restore the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
However, there are fears within the NC-Congress alliance that since the BJP has not been able to come to power, the restoration of statehood could get delayed.