Omar Abdullah Set to Swear In As J&K CM on Oct 16

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday invited National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah to form the government in the Union Territory. The swearing-in of the chief minister and other members of his council of ministers has been scheduled for 11. 30 am on Wednesday at Srinagar's lakeside Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).

54-year-old Mr. Abdullah, who served as the chief minister of erstwhile state of J&K also between 2008 and 2014, was elected to become the next chief minister of what is now the Union Territory of J&K by the newly elected MLAs of the NC here on October 10.

Acknowledging the receipt of letters from NC president Farooq Abdullah stating that he (Mr. Omar) has been elected as leader of its Legislature Party, and the letters offering support in the formation of government by him from the J&K PCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra, CPI(M) general secretary G.N. Malik, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta and five independents- Payare Lal Sharma, Satish Sharma, Chaudhary Muhammad Akram, Dr. Rameshwar Singh and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan- elected to the J&K Assembly in the recently held elections, the Lt. Governor has in his letter to Mr. Abdullah invited him to “form and lead the government of J&K.”

“As separately settled, I shall administer the oath of office and secrecy to you and those recommended by you for induction as members of your Council of Ministers at SKICC on 16th October 2024 at 11. 30 am,” the letter signed by Mr. Sinha reads.

Mr. Sinha has wished Mr. Abdullah a productive tenure and success in his endeavours. “I take this opportunity to wish you a highly productive tenure and success in your endeavours in the best interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the letter says.

Mr. Abdullah took to microblogging site ‘X’ to say he was pleased to receive the Principal Secretary to the Lt. Governor who called on him at his Gupkar Road residence here to hand over the letter from Mr. Sinha, inviting him to form the next government in J&K.

The NC vice president had called on the Lt. Governor at Raj Bhavan here on Saturday evening to stake claim to form the next government in J&K. He had submitted the names of 55 newly elected supporting members of the Assembly to the Lt. Governor.

On Sunday evening, a notification was issued in New Delhi withdrawing the 6-year-old Central rule in the UT. After President Droupadi Murmu signed a notification, the Union Home Ministry issued a gazette note stating that in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) read with Articles 239 and 239A of the Constitution of India, the order dated the 31st October, 2019 in relation to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall stand revoked immediately before the appointment of the Chief Minister under Section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.”

Earlier the J&K Lt. Governor had recommended revocation of the President’s rule in the UT. The erstwhile state of J&K was brought under the Governor’s rule following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government in June 2018. The state was stripped of its special status and split into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019. The UT of J&K was placed under the Central rule on October 31, 2019, following the formal bifurcation of the state in the UT of J&K and the UT of Ladakh under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

Elections to the Assembly of J&K UT Assembly were held in three phases from September 18 after a gap of ten years. The NC won 42 seats and its pre-poll alliance partners Congress and CPIM six seats and one seat, respectively. Five of the seven Independent candidates and AAP’s lone MLA Mehraj Malik too have extended their support to Mr. Abdullah, taking the number of the MLAs endorsing his claim to form the government to 55 in the House of 90. However, Mr. Abdullah himself has been elected on two seats-Ganderbal and Budgam- and will soon relinquish one of these. The BJP bagged 29 seats-all in the Jammu region- and the PDP three whereas J&K People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone was returned from home constituency Handwara.