Omar Abdullah is set to take oath as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. His National Conference won the maiden Assembly election after the abrogation of Article 370. The chief minister and his ministers will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at 11:30 am.
This will be Abdullah's second term as chief minister. His first term, from 2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state, was also under an NC-Congress coalition government. Preparations have been put in place for the oath ceremony of the chief minister and his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on Wednesday, officials said.
Security has been tightened around the venue of the swearing-in ceremony, the officials said. "The security has been beefed up especially as a lot of VVIPs will be attending the event. We will ensure the smooth conduct of the event," the officials added.
Invitations to attend the oath ceremony have been sent to the constituents of the INDIA bloc. National Conference (NC) Kashmir provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said it was not clear yet who all will be attending the ceremony.
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"We will get to know about the VVIP attendees later this evening after receiving their confirmation," Wani said. Sinha on Monday invited the NC vice president to take oath as the J&K chief minister. The invitation came a day after the Centre revoked President's rule in the Union Territory.
The NC won 42 out of the 90 seats which went to poll in the recent elections, while the Congress won six. Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the 95-member assembly -- five members are to be nominated by the LG. Their strength is further bolstered by the support from five Independent MLAs-elect and a lone AAP MLA-elect.
(With inputs from PTI)
