Chief Minister-elect and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah met Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha this evening (October 11). He handed over the letters of support to form the government after his party-led alliance with Congress secured victory with a majority in the recently concluded Assembly Elections on October 8. He said that if the entire process on the side of the LG and the Centre is completed by Tuesday, he would take the oath on Wednesday (October 16).
Omar was elected the leader of the National Conference legislature party on Thursday. His father and party chief Farooq Abdullah had, soon after the poll victory, announced that his Omar would be the chief minister of the Union Territory.
What did Omar say?
Omar said that he urged the LG to fix a date for the swearing-in ceremony and the date is expected to come in 2 to 3 days. He said that the ceremony is expected to be on Wednesday if the process is completed by Tuesday.
"I met the LG and handed over letters of support that I have received from the Congress, CPM, AAP and independents. I requested him to fix a date for the swearing-in ceremony so that the government can start functioning. It will be a long process as there is Centre rule here. The LG will first send the documents to Rashtrapati Bhawan and then to Home Ministry. We have been told it will take 2-3 days. So if it happens before Tuesday, we will have the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday... All I want to say is that Jammu will not be ignored in this government," he said after meeting the LG.
National Conference attains majority
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.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) officially announced its support for the National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. The AAP submitted a formal letter of support for the Omar Abdullah-led government to the Lieutenant Governor's office.