Omar Abdullah takes oath as first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir

Omar Abdullah took oath as first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 16.

The oath-taking ceremony was held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) amid tight security given the region's volatile situation. The oath of office to Abdullah was administered by J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at 11.30 am. Along with the new CM, five new ministers also took oath.

INDIA bloc's prominent leaders, including the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, attended the oath ceremony. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, and party president Malikarjun Kharge were also present.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI leader D Raja, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, DMK's Kanimozhi, and NCP's Supriya Sule were some of the other big leaders who were present at the ceremony.

A day earlier, Congress had named Ghulam Ahmad Mir as its Legislature Party leader in Jammu and Kashmir.

The National Conference-Congress alliance won the maiden assembly elections held in the post-Article 370 era. The alliance secured a spectacular victory in the elections. In the 90-member Assembly, the NC won 42 seats, BJP 29, Congress 6, PDP 3 and the rest went to others, including independents (7).

This is the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the repeal of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the former state into two Union Territories.

Omar Abdullah, 54, will be the first chief minister of the Union territory of J&K. This will be his second chief ministerial stint.

Omar Abdullah's grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, was the first Prime Minister of JK after its accession to India and later served as Chief Minister. Omar's father Farooq Abdullah has been the CM of the erstwhile state thrice.

Omar was the last chief minister to have a full six-year term. He was the Chief Minister of the erstwhile state between 2009-2015.

Omar is also a former Member of Parliament. He was Minister of State for External Affairs in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 2001 to 2002.

Before these assembly elections, J&K was under President's rule since 2018. President's rule had been imposed there following the withdrawal of support by BJP from the coalition government with Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP).

President's rule was revoked after the polls, paving the way for the formation of a new government.