National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Party leader Surinder Kumar Choudhary took oath as the deputy chief minister.
The others who were sworn in as Cabinet ministers were National Conference leaders Sakina Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana and Javed Ahmad Dar and Independent MLA Satish Sharma.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to them.
Abdullah became the first person to hold the post since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution. He had also served as the chief minister of the erstwhile state from 2009 to 2015.
The swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday was attended by several leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present at the event.
The Congress, however, said it has decided not to join the government for now, and urged the Centre to restore statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. The party contested the election in alliance with the National Conference.
Abdullah was on October 10 elected as the leader of National Conference’s legislative party, two days after his party won the Assembly elections. He had staked his claim to form the government in the Union territory on Friday.
While the National Conference won 42 seats, the Congress clinched six constituencies. Their ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), won one seat.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which won one constituency, backed the National Conference. Four Independent MLAs have also extended support to the party.
The Assembly has a strength of 119 members. While elections took place in 90 constituencies, 24 additional seats have been designated for areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The lieutenant governor has the power to appoint five members. A party or an alliance needs 48 seats for a majority when the House has 95 members.
The Assembly election was the first in Jammu and Kashmir in 10 years, and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019. Article 370 gave special status to the erstwhile state.
The Centre in August 2019 also bifurcated the state into two Union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Since then, the Union territory had been administered by the lieutenant governor, on behalf of the president.
The Union government on Sunday withdrew President’s Rule from Jammu and Kashmir, clearing the way for a new government to be formed.
On June 20, 2018, Governor’s Rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir amid a political crisis that erupted after a coalition government of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party collapsed. On December 20, 2018 – six months later – the erstwhile state came under President’s Rule as Governor’s Rule ended.
Also read: Why new J&K government will be stunted – no matter who wins
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