Udaipur, October 16, 2024 - National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir at around 11:30 am today, October 16. This marks the commencement of the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the annulment of Article 370 in the State in 2019.

The ceremony was attended by leaders from the INDIA alliance including Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Supriya Sule, Priyanka Gandhi as also D Raja and Sanjay Singh. Also present was Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The oath was administered by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. Five other party members were also given the oath - Sakina Masood, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, Javed Dar and Satish Sharma.

Congress Party has decided not to be part of the incumbent government and said it would support from outside. One ministerial berth was offered to the party but it turned the post down. The NC-Congress alliance had won 48 seats with Congress registering only six wins.

Ahead of the oath ceremony, Omar Abdullah said his government had a lot to do including restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.