Omar Abdullah is set to take oath as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, following his National Conference party's victory in the first assembly election held after the abrogation of Article 370. Preparations are underway for the oath-taking ceremony, which will take place on Wednesday at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), along with the swearing-in of his council of ministers, officials confirmed.
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. Security around the venue of the swearing-in ceremony has been tightened, officials confirmed. "Given the presence of numerous VVIPs at the event, security measures have been significantly ramped up to ensure everything proceeds smoothly," they added.
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Invitations for the oath-taking ceremony have been extended to the members of the INDIA bloc. However, National Conference (NC) Kashmir provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani mentioned that it is still unclear who will be attending the ceremony. Omar Abdullah was unanimously elected as the leader of the National Conference (NC) Legislature Party on Thursday, paving the way for his second term as Chief Minister. His first term lasted from 2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir was still a full-fledged state, and he served under an NC-Congress coalition government.
In the recent elections, the NC secured 42 out of the 90 seats contested, while the Congress won six. Together, the two pre-poll allies now hold a majority in the 95-member assembly, which includes five members to be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor.