Jammu & Kashmir cabinet re-shuffle: Key points

A much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle is likely today in Jammu & Kashmir. It comes in the wake of the resignation of J&K deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, who will be replaced by state assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta in the PDP-BJP government led by Mehboob Mufti.

The state can have a maximum of 25 ministers, including the chief minister, out of which 14 portfolios are with the PDP and the remaining are with the BJP.

Key highlights of the cabinet reshuffle:

* Ahead of a major reshuffle in the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, Deputy Chief Minister-elect Kavinder Gupta said he would prioritise work in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh regions. "The party gave me the responsibility to bring in change after three years. I'll try my best to meet the expectations of people and our priority will be to work for Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh," Gupta told ANI.

* The BJP is expected to bring in some faces in today's reshuffle. The party had on April 17 asked all its nine ministers in the state government to submit their resignations so that it could induct some new faces into the two-year old Mehbooba Mufti government.

* BJP's state unit chief Sat Sharma, MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal are among the BJP faces who will be inducted into the state government as Cabinet ministers, officials said.