PDP-BJP govt in J&K ''historic'' opportunity to fulfil public aspirations: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance government in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the coalition government will take the state to new heights and is a ''historic'' opportunity to fulfil public aspirations.

“PDP-BJP govt is a historic opportunity to fulfil the aspirations of the people of J&K and take the State to new heights of progress,” PM Modi tweeted.

PDP-BJP govt is a historic opportunity to fulfil the aspirations of the people of J&K and take the State to new heights of progress. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2015

Shortly after attending the swearing-in ceremony of PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Chief Minister of J&K, PM wrote on Twitter, “Witnessed the oath taking ceremony of Shri Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Congratulations and best wishes to him & his team.”

Witnessed the oath taking ceremony of Shri Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Congratulations and best wishes to him & his team. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2015

This is the first time the BJP is tasting power in Jammu and Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state where a separatist campaign which has raged since 1989 has left thousands dead.

Earlier in the day, PM Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and party leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi witnessed the swearing-in ceremony, more than two months after elections produced a hung verdict giving the PDP and the BJP 28 and 25 seats respectively. However, the swearing-in was boycotted by National Conference.

Son of a religious preacher from the Kashmir Valley, Sayeed will head the government of his PDP and the BJP, and will be the chief minister for the entire six years.

Senior BJP leader Nirmal Singh was sworn in as the deputy chief minister.

Former separatist leader Sajad Gani Lone, whose Peoples Conference has come out in support of the BJP, also took oath, and then hugged both Modi and Sayeed, triggering applause at the Jammu University auditorium.

Inclusive of the chief minister, the PDP will have 11 cabinet berths and the BJP six, including Lone. The PDP and BJP have three and five junior ministers respectively.

This is the second time Sayeed will head a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. He took power in 2002, heading a PDP-Congress alliance, for a three-year term.

Lone's inclusion in the cabinet followed an apparent last-minute hitch, a BJP source said, without giving details.

According to sources in the two parties, Sayeed would hold the portfolios of home and general administration.