Omar Abdullah became the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after becoming a Union Territory.
Srinagar. National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah was on Wednesday sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and the formation of a Union Territory.
Abdullah previously served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state between 2009 and 2014. He represented Srinagar in the Lok Sabha twice from 1998 to 2009. He was the youngest Lok Sabha member and became the youngest Chief Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after forming a coalition government with the Congress Party on January 5, 2009.
He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2014 to 2018. He also served as the Union Minister of State for External Affairs from 23 July 2001 to 23 December 2002 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government. He later resigned from the NDA government in October 2002 to focus on party work.
After the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Abdullah was detained along with other leaders and on February 6, 2020, the Government of India booked him under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Case registered, which was quashed on 24-March-2020. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha representing the Srinagar constituency of Jammu and Kashmir.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Abdullah showed reluctance to enter into a seat-sharing deal with other political parties in alliance with the India Group in Jammu and Kashmir and insisted that the NC contest all seats in the Kashmir region and their decision was right. The party proved successful and the party won two of the three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir.
NC contested the assembly elections in alliance with Congress and won 42 seats while Congress got six, Communist Party of India-Marxist one and Aam Aadmi Party one seat. Later, four independent candidates also supported him in the formation of the new government in Jammu and Kashmir.
