Srinagar: Omar Abdullah sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory on Wednesday, in a ceremony led by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at SKICC, Srinagar.
Alongside Omar, Surinder Chowdhary was appointed Deputy Chief Minister, with Sakina Itoo, Satish Sharma, Javaid Dar, and Javaid Rana sworn in as cabinet ministers.
The newly-formed government marks J&K’s first elected administration in a decade, following the 2014 Assembly elections and the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.
The National Conference (NC) emerged as the largest party in the recent polls, securing 42 seats and forming the government with the support of independents and the Congress, bringing the total to 53 seats.
Leaders of the INDIA Bloc, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Priyanka Gandhi, attended the ceremony. Omar is expected to lead his first cabinet meeting tomorrow, focusing on a resolution for restoring JK’s statehood.
Omar had staked claim on government formation after presenting the letters of support to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday. He presented the letters of support from 42 MLAs of NC, four independents, six Congress legislators and one CPI(M).
On Sunday, President Droupadi Murmu issued a notification revoking the president’s rule in J&K and paving way for the elected government to take the reins of J&K. On Monday, LG Sinha invited Omar for government formation on October 16. LG conveyed his decision by sending his Principal Secretary to Omar’s Gupkar residence.
Meanwhile, after the culmination of the swearing-in ceremony, the chief minister will be chairing a meeting with top officials.