SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha extended an invitation to Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah and his appointed Council of Ministers to take their oath of office at SKICC on October 16.
This follows the recent lifting of Presidential Rule in Jammu and Kashmir, which was initially imposed after the PDP-BJP coalition disintegrated on June 19, 2018. A formal letter issued from Raj Bhawan by the LG stated: “I am delighted to invite you to establish and lead the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. As agreed, I will administer the oath of office and confidentiality to you and those nominated for your Council of Ministers on October 16, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. at SKICC, Srinagar.”
The letter continued: “I wish you a productive tenure and success in serving the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The LG further acknowledged a letter from Dr. Farooq Abdullah, President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), confirming that Omar Abdullah had been unanimously chosen as the leader of the Legislative Party.
Additionally, letters of support were received from several political figures, including Tariq Hameed Karra (President, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee), G N Malik (Secretary, CPI(M)), Pankaj Kumar Gupta (National Secretary, Aam Aadmi Party), and independent MLAs like Payare Lal Sharma, Satish Sharma, Ch. Mohd. Akram, Dr Rameshwar Singh, and Muzafar Iqbal Khan endorsed Omar Abdullah to head the new government.
An emissary from the LG’s office personally delivered the letter to Abdullah, informing him of the date and time for the swearing-in ceremony. Omar later posted on X: “It was an honour to receive the Principal Secretary to LG Manoj Sinha. He handed me an official invitation to form the next Government in J&K.”
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This marks the first elected government in J&K in over a decade. The last assembly elections were held in 2014, leading to a PDP-BJP coalition that eventually collapsed in June 2018. In 2019, the central government repealed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two Union Territories: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Omar Abdullah had previously met LG Manoj Sinha, submitting letters of support and staking his claim to form the government. He had informed reporters that the oath ceremony would take some time, as documents had to be sent to the President’s Office in New Delhi and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Late yesterday evening, President Draupadi Murmu officially lifted the President’s Rule, paving the way for a new government to take control of the Union Territory.
The recent assembly elections, held in three phases, resulted in a victory for the National Conference-Congress alliance, which secured 48 seats, with the NC leading. The Congress won only six seats, while the BJP dominated the Jammu region, winning 29 seats compared to Congress’s one.