Omar Abdullah has officially taken oath as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir at a ceremony held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on Wednesday. He was accompanied by five other ministers, including Surinder Choudhary, who was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. Among the ministers, Sakina Itoo, representing Noorabad constituency in Kulgam, is the only woman to have taken the oath. The other ministers include Javed Rana, elected from Mendhar in Rajouri, former minister Javed Dar, independent legislator from Chamb in Jammu, and Satish Sharma.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by several prominent leaders from the INDIA bloc, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Left leaders Prakash Karat and D Raja. Notable among the attendees was PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who emphasised the significance of the day, stating, “Today is a very auspicious day. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have got their government after several years. We hope that this new government will treat the wounds we got.”

Hours before the ceremony, the Congress party announced its decision to abstain from joining the government while providing outside support. JKPCC chief Karra expressed dissatisfaction over the non-restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, stating, “Congress won’t join the council of ministers in J-K for the moment.” Despite this, Omar Abdullah noted that there were no rifts between the National Conference and Congress, asserting, “Everything is well between the NC and Congress, otherwise senior Congress leaders would not be coming here for the swearing-in.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Abdullah in a post on X, saying, “Congratulations to Shri Omar Abdullah Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. The Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K’s progress.”

Mehbooba Mufti highlighted the struggles faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 and expressed hopes for the new government to address pressing issues such as unemployment and drug addiction. “We hope that the government will also find ways to resolve issues of unemployment, drug addiction, electricity, and others,” she added.

With the Union Territory government limited to nine ministers, including the Chief Minister, it is expected that Omar Abdullah will allocate one Cabinet position to the Congress party, which secured only six seats in the Assembly elections. The ceremony was administered by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, marking a significant moment in the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.