Srinagar: Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, marking the first elected government in the Union territory since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).
This is Abdullah's second term as the Chief Minister. He previously served from 2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state. Abdullah is also the third generation of the Abdullah family to hold the position, following his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah and his father Farooq Abdullah.
Alongside Abdullah, five ministers took oaths: Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma. Itoo and Dar represent the Kashmir valley, while Rana, Choudhar, and Sharma hail from the Jammu region.
Notably, the Congress party announced it would join the Council of Ministers for the time being. Jammu and Kashmir Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of restored statehood, which influenced the party's decision.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by a host of leaders from the INDIA Bloc, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Mallikarjun Kharge, as well as SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Left leaders Prakash Karat and D Raja, DMK's Kanimozhi, and NCP's Supriya Sule. People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti was also present.
Omar Abdullah was unanimously elected as the leader of the National Conference (NC) Legislature Party following the party's success in the recent elections, where it won 42 out of 90 seats.
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