‘We will endeavour to take everyone along’
Srinagar, Oct 16: Senior National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took office on Wednesday as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The oath of office and secrecy was administered to Abdullah and his chosen ministers by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). Five ministers—Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma—also took the oath.
Several top leaders from the INDIA alliance attended the ceremony, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat, CPI leader D. Raja, DMK’s Kanimozhi, and NCP’s Supriya Sule.
The Chief Minister shared pictures from his new office on his X handle, along with the caption “I’m back.” He also updated his X bio to read, “Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.”
Acknowledging the unique challenges of leading Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, Abdullah said, “Being a Chief Minister of a Union Territory is a different matter altogether. It has its own challenges, but I hope this status is temporary.”
Abdullah said that his government’s priority would be to work toward restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, which was revoked in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370.
“We look forward to working in cooperation with the Government of India to resolve the people’s problems, and the best way to do that is by restoring statehood to J&K,” he stated.
Omar Abdullah selected party leader Surinder Choudhary from Nowshera in Jammu as his deputy, explaining that the decision was made to give a voice to the people of the region and ensure his government’s inclusivity. “Our endeavour will be to take everyone along. There are three vacancies, and they will gradually be filled,” he said.
He added that Choudhary—a former member of both the PDP and the BJP who defeated BJP’s J&K president Ravinder Raina from Nowshera by 7,819 votes—was chosen as Deputy Chief Minister to ensure that the people of Jammu do not feel excluded from the government.
“I had promised that we would not allow Jammu to feel as though they don’t have a voice or representation in this government. I chose a Deputy Chief Minister from Jammu so that the people of Jammu feel this government is as much theirs as it is of the rest of the region,” he stated.
Before the swearing-in, Omar Abdullah paid homage to his grandfather, National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, at his mausoleum.
The National Conference won 42 of the 90 seats contested in the recent elections, while Congress secured six seats. Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the 95-member assembly, with five members to be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor. Their strength is further bolstered by the support of five Independent MLAs-elect and a lone AAP MLA-elect.
Omar Abdullah is the first Chief Minister to take office after the revocation of Article 370. Having previously served a full six-year term, he now faces new challenges as the leader of a Union Territory.
He hopes the Union Territory status is temporary. He intends to work with the Indian government to address local issues, with a primary focus on restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Though there are numerous demands from the people, he assured that efforts would be made to address them.
