‘I’m back,’ said National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday (October 16) as he assumed the office as the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister. The Chief Minister also shared the pictures from his new office on his X handle along with the caption “I’m back”. Omar Abdullah also changed his X bio which reads, “Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir”.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took oath as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the NC-Congress alliance won the maiden assembly elections held after the abrogation of Article 370. The oath of office and secrecy was administered to Abdullah’s chosen ministers by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at 11.30 am at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).
Along with Omar Abdullah, vice president of the NC, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister, Surinder Chaudhary from Nowshera in Rajouri, Satish Sharma, an independent who supports the alliance, and Javid Rana, who won from Budhal in Rajouri, were inducted into the cabinet.
Observers note that by appointing three ministers from Jammu, especially Chaudhary as deputy chief minister, the NC-Congress government under Omar has made efforts to bridge the regional divide between Jammu and Kashmir. The inclusion of these three ministers from Jammu is expected to alleviate the sense of under-representation of Jammu in the government.
Omar Abdullah first term, from 2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state, was also under an NC-Congress coalition government.
The NC won 42 out of the 90 seats which went to poll in the recent elections, while the Congress won six. Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the 95-member assembly — five members are to be nominated by the LG. Their strength is further bolstered by the support from five Independent MLAs-elect and a lone AAP MLA-elect.
