Omar Abdullah takes oath as J&K chief minister
Omar Abdullah took oath as the first chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir since it was reconstituted as a Union Territory in 2019. The ceremony was held in Srinagar on Wednesday, with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administering the oath of office and secrecy. Sinha invited Abdullah to take the oath after the government revoked the president's rule on Monday. This is Abdullah's second term in office, after his first one from 2009 to 2014, when J&K was a state.
NC forms majority with Congress, independent MLAs
Abdullah's party, the National Conference (NC), won a majority in the recent elections, bagging 42 out of 90 seats. The Congress, on the other hand, won just six seats, a major decline from their 12-seat victory in the 2014 election. The region had been under President's rule since June 2018 after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support from the previous coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti. After his swearing-in, Abdullah will meet with administrative secretaries to discuss governance priorities.
INDIA alliance leaders invited to Abdullah's swearing-in ceremony
The NC had invited leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to Abdullah's swearing-in ceremony. Among those who attended the ceremony are Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal. The presence of Congress leaders is despite reports suggesting that the party, which had a pre-poll alliance with Abdullah's party, has decided against joining the new government over ministerial berths. According to reports, Gandhi's party sought two ministries but was offered only one.
