Son of a security aide of erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, Nirmal Singh who holds a doctorate degree in history, was today sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the second time.

The journey to one of the coveted posts in J and K has been through a long wait for Nirmal Kumar Singh of BJP. After the heart-burn during the ticket distribution in last Lok Sabha election, Singh was the unanimous choice of BJP for the post of deputy chief minister when PDP and BJP decided to forge an alliance last year.


The state was put under Governor's rule following the demise of then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed when both the coalition partners failed to come close to form the government.


However, after the meeting of Mehbooba Mufti with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, both the parties decided to form the government and Singh once again emerged as the consensus candidate of BJP for the post of deputy CM. Singh has contested several Lok Sabha and state assembly elections over the past 25 years but had to wait till 2014 for his maiden victory.