Omar Abdullah Takes Oath as Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir

Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir today in a ceremony held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) near Dal Lake. The National Conference Party, having won 42 seats in the recent Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, formed the government with the support of four independent MLAs and six Congress members. 

Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to Omar Abdullah at 11:30 AM. The newly formed cabinet will consist of nine ministers. Key Congress leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, attended the ceremony. 

Omar Abdullah, speaking before the event, acknowledged the many challenges ahead for his government. He highlighted that he is the first Chief Minister to be sworn in after Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a Union Territory in 2019. He assured the public that his administration would focus on resolving the difficulties faced by the people over the last decade and pledged to stand by them. 

In the recent elections, the BJP secured 29 seats, Congress 6, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) 3, People's Conference 1, and CPI(M) 1. Jammu and Kashmir was restructured into a Union Territory by the BJP-led central government in August 2019, and the region was under President's rule until yesterday, when President Droupadi Murmu issued a notification lifting it.