The Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) on Thursday achieved a majority in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly following the decision of four independent MLAs to join the party. With this induction, the NC's strength in the Assembly rose to 46, which is exactly a majority mark in the assembly.
Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah was elected as the leader of the JKNC legislative party in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, paving the way for him to be the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was taken at a meeting of newly elected lawmakers who all supported Omar's leadership. Omar thanked his party legislators and said, "I thank NC legislators that they trusted me and gave me an opportunity to go to Raj Bhawan and stake claim. We are talking to Congress for their support."
He also acknowledged the support of four independent MLAs and said, "Four independent MLAs have given support to us. The NC strength is now 46. We are speaking to Congress for their letter, and we have given them today for their internal discussion."
Who are the four independent MLAs that backed Omar Abdullah's NC?
Independent MLAs Dr Rameshwar Singh, Choudhary Mohammed Akram, Satish Sharma, and Pyare Lal Sharma have decided to support the National Conference in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Dr Rameshwar Singh won the Bani constituency in Jammu and Kashmir by defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Jewan Lal with a margin of 2,048 votes.
Choudhary Mohammed Akram won the Surankote constituency in Jammu and Kashmir by defeating Congress candidate Mohd Shahnawaz with a margin of 8,851 votes, while Satish Sharma defeated the BJP's Rajeev Sharma by 6,929 votes to win the Chhamb constituency.
Another independent candidate, Payare Lal Sharma, won the Inderwal constituency in Jammu and Kashmir by defeating another independent, Ghulam Mohd Saroori, by a margin of just 643 votes.
Pre-poll alliance meeting scheduled for government formation
Farooq Abdullah announced that a meeting of the NC's pre-poll coalition partners would be held on Friday to further discuss the formation of the government in Jammu and Kashmir. The NC has a comfortable majority in the Assembly along with their partners.
NC emerges as the single largest party
The NC won 42 seats in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, making it the single largest party. With coalition partners Congress and CPI-M winning six and one seats respectively, the alliance is in a strong position to form the next government with Omar Abdullah expected to be the Chief Minister.
