Omar Abdullah: First Chief Minister of Union Territory J&K, with Congress's outside support.

Srinagar 16 October (VNI) After the abolition of Article 370, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference became the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir today. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to him. Along with Abdullah, five other ministers were also sworn in, and Surendra Chaudhary took the oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Chaudhary had defeated the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ravinder Raina, in the elections.

A significant aspect of the oath-taking ceremony was the presence of senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi, who are allies of the All India Alliance government. However, no Congress minister, despite their alliance with the National Conference in the assembly elections, joined the government today. Reports suggest that Congress was unhappy with the proposal to receive only one ministerial post in the Council of Ministers, but there are hopes that the dispute can be resolved through discussions later. Currently, Congress will support Omar Abdullah's government from outside. The National Conference and Congress had formed an alliance for the assembly elections, which resulted in victory, although Congress only managed to secure six seats in Jammu and Kashmir, marking its worst performance to date.

Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah's father and former Chief Minister of the state, attended the ceremony. Other notable attendees included Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party and a key leader of the India Alliance, Mehbooba Mufti, chief of the PDP, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Communist leader D. Raja, and other senior leaders. This marks Omar Abdullah's second term as Chief Minister, but for the first time, Jammu and Kashmir is a full Union Territory, having separated Ladakh from its governance.

According to sources, Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi attended Omar Abdullah's swearing-in ceremony to convey a message of political unity. All five ministers in Omar Abdullah's cabinet belong to the National Conference: Javed Dar from Rafiabad, Sakina Itoo from DH Pora, Javed Rana from Mendhar, Surendra Chaudhary from Nowshera, and Satish Sharma from Chhamb.