Jammu & Kashmir government formation: Key candidates who may secure ministerial berths in Mufti's Cabinet
Naeem Akhtar
Former bureaucrat-turned-politician, Naeem Akhtar is considered to be an ideologue of the PDP. According to sources, he is likely to bag the housing and urban development portfolio.
Akhtar served as the principal secretary between 2002 and 2005, when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the chief minister. He resigned in January 2009 and joined the PDP soon after National Conference working president Omar Abdullah took oath as the CM .
Akhtar, who is currently a member of the Upper House of the state Assembly, was appointed as the sole spokesman of the party after some leaders, including Muzzafer Baig, started speaking in different voices after the December 23 elections.
Altaf Bukhari
The MLA from Amira Kadal constituency of Srinagar is also tipped to secure a Cabinet berth in the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government. Bukhari is a top industrialist in the state and is also the treasurer of the PDP.
Haseeb Drabu
He is tipped to be the finance minister. Drabu joined the PDP in June 2014 and won the Assembly election from Rajpora constituency of Pulwama district in South Kashmir. Dabru, who was extensively involved in talks with BJP general secretary Ram Madhav for two months to evolve a consensus over the CMP, has a doctorate in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Dabru started his career in 1990 as an OSD in the Planning Commission. The Rajpora MLA has been a member of the PM's economic advisory council and was also a member of the 10th Finance Commission. He had previously worked with former RBI governors Y.V. Reddy and Bimal Jalan. He also served as the national editor of an English daily.
The PDP leader was the economic adviser in the Mufti government from 2002 to 2005 after which he took over as the chairman of the J&K Bank till 2010.
Nirmal Singh
Nirmal Singh is the BJP MLA from Billawar constituency. A former professor of Jammu University, Singh has held key positions in the party. He was also the president of the state unit of the BJP. He is likely to get the deputy chief minister's post.