GUWAHATI: National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, October 16. This marks his second return to office after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories in 2019.
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Abdullah took to X to share the update, posting pictures from his office. “I’m back,” he shared, and also updated his bio to read “Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.”
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. Along with Abdullah, five ministers took the oath of office, including two from Kashmir and three from Jammu.
Notably, Surinder Chaudhary, an NC leader from Jammu, was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister by Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Other ministers sworn in include Sakina Ittoo, Javed Rana, Javed Dar, and Satish Sharma, all of whom are NC MLAs, with the exception of Sharma, an independent MLA supporting the NC-Congress alliance.
The Congress Party, however, chose not to join the new government, citing dissatisfaction over the delay in restoring J&K’s statehood. JKPCC Chief Tariq Hameed Karra explained that Congress would continue pushing for statehood restoration and would not join the ministry until this demand is met. "We are unhappy and are not joining the Ministry at the moment," Karra said.
Abdullah’s return marks a significant political development as he becomes the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370.
