Omar Abdullah Sworn in as the first CM of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir
Appointment
5 min read
Omar Abdullah of the National Conference party was sworn in as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on 16 October 2024. Along with Omar Abdullah, five ministers, four from the National Conference Party and one independent, were also sworn in. Surinder Kumar Choudhary, the National Conference MLA from the Jammu region, was sworn in as deputy chief minister.
Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, administered the oath of office to the chief minister and his council of ministers at a ceremony held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar on 16 October 2024.
Jammu and Kashmir have been under the president's rule since the fall of the PDP-BJP coalition government in 2018. The President's rule was revoked after 6 years by the President on 13 October 2024.
2nd term as Chief Minister for Omar Abdullah
Omar Abdullah has been sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the second time. He became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in January 2009 and remained till 8th January 2014.
However, he is the first person to be the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir after its status was changed from a state to a Union Territory and split into Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh on 31st October 2019.
The bifurcation and change in the status of Jammu and Kashmir was done under the provision of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, passed by the Indian Parliament.
Strength of the Council of Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, the maximum strength of the council of ministers, including the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, shall not be more than 10 per cent of the total members in the Legislative Assembly.
The total strength of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly is 116. Of these, 114 members are directly elected by the people, and two seats are reserved for women, who are nominated by the Lieutenant Governor.
Out of the 114 seats, 24 seats are reserved for the people of Jammu and Kashmir under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.
Thus, the maximum number of members of the present Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly is 92 (90 elected and 2 nominated women members).
Hence, the maximum number of members of the council of ministers of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, including the chief minister, cannot exceed 9.
No Member of Congress in the Council of Ministers
The National Conference, in alliance with the Congress party, fought the recently held legislative assembly election in the Union Territory. The National Conference emerged as the largest party, with 42 seats, while the Congress won 6 seats. However, the Congress Party has declined to join the Omar Abdullah government.
However, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Bharatiya Janata Party is the main opposition party in the legislative assembly with 26 members.
