Srinagar: Omar Abdullah took oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. The oath was administered by LG Manoj Sinha. Elections were held for the first time after the abrogation of article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir as two UTs J&K and Ladakh.
After historic win in the J&K elections, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah took oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the second time at 11:30 am today. With this, he has become the first CM of this union territory. The oath program was held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Center in Srinagar.
The leaders from INDIA bloc including Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, CPI leader D Raja and others are present here at the oath ceremony of Omar Abdullah.
Nine ministers are likely to take oath along with him. Congress may get one minister and the post of deputy speaker. The names of Congress state president Tariq Hameed Karra and general secretary Ghulam Ahmed Mir are being considered for the ministerial post.
However, Congress appointed Mir as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party on October 15, so his chances of becoming a minister were less. At the same time, Nizamuddin Bhat can be made the deputy speaker.
Apart from this, an independent MLA can also be made a minister. This can be done to give adequate representation to the Jammu region in the government. At the same time, 7 ministers can be made from the National Conference. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, the total number of ministers including the CM cannot exceed 10% of the assembly seats.
As per reports, after taking oath, Omar Abdullah will meet with the Administrative Secretary at 3:00 pm.