Ahead Of Swearing-In, CM-Designate Omar Abdullah Reflects On 'Strange Distinctions': 'I Was The Last...'

In a few hours from now, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah will take oath as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir - his second stint at the top job. Abdullah is set to be the first chief minister of J&K since it became a Union Territory. Interestingly, he was the last chief minister to serve a full six-year term.The strange distinctions were pointed out by the CM-designate as he met media persons this morning."I have some strange distinctions. I was the last chief minister to serve a full six-year term. Now I'll be the first chief minister of the Union territory of J&K. The last distinction, as in the one of serving six years, I'm quite happy about...I hope that the status of a union territory is a temporary one. We look forward to working in cooperation with the government of India to resolve the people's problems and the best way to do that would be to start by restoring statehood to J&K," he said.Abdullah will take oath alongwith his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). The oath of office and secrecy will be administered by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at 11.30 am.

#WATCH | Srinagar: Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Jammu and Kashmir CM-designate Omar Abdullah says, "I have some strange distinctions. I was the last chief minister to serve a full six-year term. Now I'll be the first chief minister of the Union territory of J&K. The last… pic.twitter.com/ETraUfgly1

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2024

The ceremony will be attended by many high-profile leaders from ally Congress like Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi."Rahul Gandhi, Kharge ji, and Priyanka ji are scheduled to participate in the oath ceremony tomorrow," a senior Congress leader told PTI.Chief ministers and representatives of some states will also attend the event.Among the prominent INDIA bloc leaders invited for the event include West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP President Sharad Pawar, RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and DMK's MK Stalin. Other key invitees include Uddhav Thackeray from Shiv Sena, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal.Lt Governor Manoj Sinha invited Omar Abdullah to take the oath as the J&K chief minister on Monday, a day after the government revoked the president's rule in the Union Territory.ALSO READ: "I have received a letter of 11th October 2024 from Dr. Farooq Abdullah, President, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, wherein it has been informed that you have been unanimously elected as Leader of the Legislature Party," Sinha said in his letter to Abdullah.On Thursday, the National Conference (NC) Legislature Party unanimously elected Omar Abdullah as its leader, paving the way for his second term as Chief Minister. Abdullah's first term, from 2009 to 2014, took place when Jammu and Kashmir was still a full-fledged state, under an NC-Congress coalition government.In the recent elections, Abdullah's National Conference secured 42 out of 90 seats, while ally Congress won six. Together, the two INDIA bloc allies command a majority in the 95-member assembly, which includes five members to be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor.The allies also have the backing of five Independent MLAs-elect and one MLA-elect from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).