Omar Abdullah took the oath as Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, becoming the first CM since the region lost its statehood following the reorganization and abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.

Alongside Abdullah, five MLAs, including one Independent, also took the oath as Cabinet Ministers, but notably, there was no representation from the Congress in the new government. National Conference MLAs Javed Ahmed Rana from Mendhar, Javid Ahmad Dar from Rafiabad, Sakina Itoo from DH Pora, and Surinder Kumar Chowdhary were sworn in as ministers by LG Sinha.

Independent MLA Satish Sharma, who defeated former Deputy CM and senior Congress leader Tara Chand for the Chhamb Assembly seat in Jammu district, also joined the cabinet.

Jammu and Kashmir Congress Chief Tariq Hameed Karra stated that the Congress party is not joining the ministry at this time. After failing to secure two ministerial positions, the Congress decided to support the National Conference government from the outside. 

Following the oath-taking, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will hold a meeting with all administrative secretaries at the Srinagar Civil Secretariat. It’s worth noting that no senior National Conference leaders managed to secure a cabinet position. Security was ramped up in Srinagar ahead of the ceremony.